UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Grows Stock Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 59.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,555,382 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after purchasing an additional 579,460 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned 0.39% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $33,907,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at about $261,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 274.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 33,657 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $734,000 after acquiring an additional 24,669 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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. Algert Global LLC increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 282.1% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 150,793 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $3,287,000 after purchasing an additional 111,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake 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 worth $17,318,000 after purchasing an additional 110,993 shares during the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEVI traded down $0.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $17.91. The stock had a trading volume of 2,293,731 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,237,751. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.41. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $14.70 and a twelve month high of $24.34. The firm has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a PE ratio of 47.12, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $17.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $19.38.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.52 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 2.52%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.28 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 136.85%.

Insider Activity

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $149,976.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 108,344 shares in the company, valued at $1,950,192. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 3.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on LEVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $22.75.

Levi Strauss & Co. Profile

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.