BTC Capital Management Inc. Buys Shares of 14,726 Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 14,726 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $294,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Isthmus Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $270,000. Strategic Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 19,900 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $329,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 21,297 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 1,319 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

LEVI stock opened at $23.01 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.37 and a 200-day moving average of $19.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.19. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $12.41 and a 12 month high of $24.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued 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 firm 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%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.34 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 9th were paid a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 154.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LEVI. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on 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. TD Cowen upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. UBS Group increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.11.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 35,415 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $708,300.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 179,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,588,600. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 35,415 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $708,300.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 179,430 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,588,600. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 23,041 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $461,050.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 830,719 shares of company stock worth $18,426,020. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. 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.