KBC Group NV Boosts Stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 114,442 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $1,980,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,103 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,230,069 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $26,816,000 after purchasing an additional 20,426 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 166,736 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $3,635,000 after purchasing an additional 16,785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,123,957 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $24,512,000 after purchasing an additional 20,870 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $21.36.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’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 directly owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at $1,875,204. This trade represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $19.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $17.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $18.17. The company has a market capitalization of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.16. 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 fifty-two week low of $15.62 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 26.00% and a net margin of 3.32%. Research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Levi Strauss & Co. 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.