David A. Friedman Sells 8,332 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $149,976.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 108,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,950,192. The trade was a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:LEVI opened at $18.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $18.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $19.40. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $14.70 and a 1-year high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.28 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.83%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEVI has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lowered 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 report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 17,502 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $350,000 after acquiring an additional 4,202 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 85,129 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,702,000 after acquiring an additional 851 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 104.5% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,547 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $319,000 after acquiring an additional 8,457 shares during the last quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 42,986 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $829,000 after acquiring an additional 2,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $343,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.