Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 1,319 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 6.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 21,297 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,319 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of LEVI. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% during the third quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 1,690 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $195,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter worth $225,000. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. increased its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 4.9% in the third quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 17,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $231,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 85,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.06, for a total value of $1,896,829.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, EVP Tracy Layney sold 15,894 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.02, for a total transaction of $270,515.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 41,468 shares in the company, valued at $705,785.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 85,985 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.06, for a total transaction of $1,896,829.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 267,212 shares of company stock worth $5,437,220. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEVI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four 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 $20.56.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $22.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.76 billion, a PE ratio of 70.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $19.62 and its 200-day moving average price is $17.11. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1-year low of $12.41 and a 1-year high of $22.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 1.43 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 3rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 20.68% and a net margin of 2.05%. The business had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.34 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.18%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 154.84%.

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.