Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman Sells 12,500 Shares of Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.23, for a total value of $265,375.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 187,508 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,980,794.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI stock opened at $22.00 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $12.41 and a 52-week high of $22.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 70.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $19.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.10.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 3rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 2.05%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.34 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 154.84%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% in the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $130,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter worth approximately $195,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $215,000. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $223,000. Finally, Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter valued at $225,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEVI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.56.

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.