Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Sold by Manchester Capital Management LLC

Manchester Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 10.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,541 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after selling 1,000 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of LEVI. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $24,325,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,625,378 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $109,584,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000,000 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,626,322 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $117,145,000 after buying an additional 610,838 shares during the period. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $7,105,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 959.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 294,412 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $4,870,000 after buying an additional 266,612 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE LEVI traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $19.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 359,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,453,725. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.08 and a beta of 1.16. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $22.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $19.51. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $12.41 and a 1 year high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 23.21%. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.04 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.73%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 137.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on LEVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. OTR Global started coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Friday, June 14th. They set a “positive” rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, June 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 346,555 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.21, for a total value of $7,696,986.55. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 525,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,667,734.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 346,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.21, for a total value of $7,696,986.55. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 525,337 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,667,734.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total transaction of $80,695.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 162,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,147,818.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 725,033 shares of company stock valued at $16,276,940 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.