American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 15.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after purchasing an additional 219,546 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.41% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $27,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LEVI. FMR LLC raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $205,356,000 after buying an additional 2,907,099 shares during 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 valued at $33,907,000 after purchasing an additional 579,460 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in 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. increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,230,069 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $26,816,000 after buying an additional 20,426 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,123,957 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $24,512,000 after buying an additional 20,870 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

NYSE:LEVI traded up $0.62 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $16.21. The stock had a trading volume of 1,144,074 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,856. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $15.42 and a one year high of $24.34.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business'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 value of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on LEVI shares. Guggenheim increased their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped 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 research note on Friday, January 24th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently 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.