VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Acquires Shares of 53,550 Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 53,550 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $1,111,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC now owns 50,939 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,056,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,553 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 26,732 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 260.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,121 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 810 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 140.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,425 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 833 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $25.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. BTIG Research reissued a “buy” rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $26.69.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 2.0%

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $20.99 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.37, a PEG ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $20.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.04. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $16.50 and a 52 week high of $24.82.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.65 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 25.35%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s quarterly revenue was up 14.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.14 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.7%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.67%.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, EVP Karyn Hillman sold 38,938 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.91, for a total value of $892,069.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 91,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,769.02. The trade was a 29.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 121,767 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.52, for a total transaction of $2,863,959.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 148,757 shares in the company, valued at $3,498,764.64. This represents a 45.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 270,705 shares of company stock worth $6,286,029 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company’s flagship label, Levi’s®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi’s, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.