Raymond James Financial Inc. Takes Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 141,604 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $2,450,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 16.2% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 794,408 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $17,318,000 after buying an additional 110,993 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $205,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,099 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 274.5% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,657 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $734,000 after purchasing an additional 24,669 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% during the 3rd 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 worth $33,907,000 after purchasing an additional 579,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maverick Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,222,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company's stock.

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Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 4.1 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded up $0.64 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $16.23. The company had a trading volume of 886,060 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,214,238. The stock has a market cap of $6.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $15.42 and a 1-year high of $24.34. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $17.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $17.80.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors 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 3.20%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $74,988.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,875,204. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on LEVI shares. Barclays lowered their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. decreased 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 report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.