Barclays PLC Trims Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Barclays PLC reduced its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 48.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 215,403 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after selling 202,744 shares during the period. Barclays PLC owned 0.05% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $4,696,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LEVI. FMR LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $205,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,099 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in 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 valued at $82,409,000 after buying an additional 756,926 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,083.0% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,923,206 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $37,079,000 after acquiring an additional 1,835,107 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,555,382 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $33,907,000 after acquiring an additional 579,460 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,070.8% in the second 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. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $149,976.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 108,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,950,192. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEVI opened at $17.39 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $18.94. The company has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.76, a PEG ratio of 0.96 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.41. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $14.87 and a one year high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.52% and a return on equity of 24.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 136.84%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.