Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Sold by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 4.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,175,551 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 54,518 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $20,337,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LEVI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $152,672,000 after acquiring an additional 133,978 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $115,444,000 after acquiring an additional 81,435 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.8% in 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. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 840,251 shares during the period. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,079.9% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,432,127 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $24,776,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,748 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on LEVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group dropped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Guggenheim upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEVI traded up $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $15.03. 3,760,142 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,166,498. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $12.17 and a 1-year high of $24.34. The firm has a market cap of $5.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $16.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $17.41.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.46%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.43%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,012 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

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.