Alberta Investment Management Corp Raises Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 132,942 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 24,536 shares during the period. Alberta Investment Management Corp’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $2,300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 2,907,099 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 119.8% during the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,541,784 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $26,858,000 after acquiring an additional 840,251 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 579,460 shares during the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter valued at approximately $10,817,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 282.1% during the third 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 2.6 %

LEVI opened at $18.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $17.82 and its 200-day moving average is $18.21. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $15.62 and a 52-week high of $24.34. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $7.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 1.17.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. Analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is currently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. 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 research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

Insider Activity at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 8,332 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,950,192. This represents a 7.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 16,664 shares of company stock valued at $301,785. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

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.