Russell Investments Group Ltd. Decreases Stock Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 19.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 117,349 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 27,878 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $2,030,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,998 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $16,383,000 after acquiring an additional 152,590 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $511,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,415,000. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $27,823,000 after buying an additional 219,546 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. increased its position in 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 buying an additional 67,401 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:LEVI traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $15.95. 310,903 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,145,776. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $16.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.10. The firm has a market cap of $6.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.65, 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. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.17 and a one year high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.26 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s payout ratio is presently 58.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.25% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on LEVI shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Guggenheim upped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Three equities research 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.