David A. Friedman Sells 4,166 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:LEVI opened at $19.22 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.66 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.62 billion, a PE ratio of 36.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.17. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $15.62 and a 52-week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. Analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.71%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth $1,415,000. Olympiad Research LP purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $348,000. Alberta Investment Management Corp boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp now owns 132,942 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $2,300,000 after acquiring an additional 24,536 shares during the period. Valmark Advisers Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth about $325,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

LEVI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 17th. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

Levi Strauss & Co engages in the design, marketing, and sale of apparel products. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, tops, shorts, skirts, jackets, footwear, and related accessories. It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas, Europe, and Asia. The company was founded by Levi Strauss in 1853 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.