Fmr LLC Sells 1,841,896 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

FMR LLC lowered its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 19.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,578,111 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 1,841,896 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned 1.91% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $131,101,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,079.9% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,432,127 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $24,776,000 after acquiring an additional 1,310,748 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% in the 4th 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. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 47.3% in the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 746,017 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $12,906,000 after purchasing an additional 239,518 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $27,823,000 after purchasing an additional 219,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pier Capital LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.8% during the 4th quarter. Pier Capital LLC now owns 558,973 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $9,670,000 after purchasing an additional 195,449 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE LEVI traded up $0.51 on Friday, hitting $14.62. 3,609,194 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,151,455. The business's 50 day moving average price is $16.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.24. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $12.17 and a 52-week high of $24.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company's stock, 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 1.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LEVI. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 research note on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group decreased 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 report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim increased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $19.18.

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.