Algert Global LLC Purchases 111,330 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Algert Global LLC grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 282.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 150,793 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 111,330 shares during the quarter. Algert Global LLC’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $3,287,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,083.0% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,923,206 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $37,079,000 after buying an additional 1,835,107 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,070.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,518 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $27,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365,574 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6,794.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,244,873 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $24,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,818 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,274,326 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $82,409,000 after purchasing an additional 756,926 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $10,817,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LEVI. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

LEVI opened at $17.11 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.03, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $18.47 and a 200 day moving average of $19.65. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $14.70 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 2.52%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 229,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,583,520. This trade represents a 9.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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.