Quantbot Technologies LP Purchases New Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 157,931 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $2,732,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $205,356,000 after acquiring an additional 2,907,099 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 579,460 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,784 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,858,000 after purchasing an additional 840,251 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,230,069 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,816,000 after purchasing an additional 20,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.9% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,123,957 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $24,512,000 after purchasing an additional 20,870 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at $1,844,221.28. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:LEVI opened at $16.03 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $17.94. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $15.45 and a 52 week high of $24.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.82, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LEVI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 24th. Guggenheim raised their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.