Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director Sells $500,040.00 in Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,583,520. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:LEVI traded up $0.22 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $19.70. 909,757 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,194,653. The stock has a market cap of $7.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $18.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.15. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $12.41 and a 52-week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 23.21% and a net margin of 2.34%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.04 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.64%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 148.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

LEVI has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 24th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $23.38.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. 272 Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth $35,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the second quarter worth about $56,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $135,000. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 2nd quarter valued at about $195,000. Finally, Susquehanna International Securities Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $239,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

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.