Nebula Research & Development LLC Acquires 56,843 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Nebula Research & Development LLC raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 163.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 91,573 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after purchasing an additional 56,843 shares during the period. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $1,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $152,672,000 after buying an additional 133,978 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 valued at $115,444,000 after acquiring an additional 81,435 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $27,823,000 after purchasing an additional 219,546 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 840,251 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its stake 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 valued at $24,776,000 after purchasing an additional 1,310,748 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEVI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Guggenheim boosted 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 note on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded down $0.09 on Tuesday, hitting $15.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,611,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,318. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.17 and a one year high of $24.34. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $15.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $16.99. The stock has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.38, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio 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.