Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Purchases Shares of 81,811 Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 81,811 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $1,415,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of LEVI. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Matrix Trust Co lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $105,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,904.1% in the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,137 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $112,000 after purchasing an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total transaction of $149,976.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 108,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,950,192. This trade represents a 7.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 16,664 shares of company stock worth $301,785. 3.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Telsey Advisory Group dropped 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of LEVI traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.98. 1,949,967 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,124,640. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $17.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.24. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $15.62 and a 52-week high of $24.34. The company has a market cap of $7.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.57, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.17.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 100.00%.

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.