Insider Selling: Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director Sells $80,695.42 in Stock

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.37, for a total value of $80,695.42. Following the transaction, the director now owns 162,510 shares in the company, valued at $3,147,818.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.2 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded down $0.04 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $19.04. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,802,365 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,478,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.77, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.16. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $22.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.42. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $12.41 and a 52-week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.45 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 23.21%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.04 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.13 per share. This is an increase from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 137.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Levi Strauss & Co.

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at about $215,000. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 1st quarter worth approximately $294,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at $270,000. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter worth $330,000. 69.14% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America raised their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $22.33.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company 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.