Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Has $14.98 Million Stock Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 36.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 865,790 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after acquiring an additional 231,270 shares during the period. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc owned 0.22% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $14,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $2,450,000. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 40,960 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 24,466 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 892.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 114,472 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 102,936 shares during the period. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 188,714 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $3,265,000 after acquiring an additional 67,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 26,888 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 5,851 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on LEVI. Guggenheim upped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

LEVI traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $14.62. 3,609,194 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,155,364. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.29. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $12.17 and a 12 month high of $24.34. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.43%.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.