The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 1,226,818 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 6,794.9% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,244,873 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,226,818 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.31% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $24,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,391,385 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $138,794,000 after acquiring an additional 97,043 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 18.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,245,542 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $20,601,000 after purchasing an additional 196,270 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 230.0% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 56,934 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 39,683 shares during the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth $1,361,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 158.3% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 155,000 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $2,564,000 after buying an additional 95,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE LEVI opened at $21.68 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.94, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.14. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.41 and a one year high of $24.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $18.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total transaction of $79,778.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 154,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,952,508.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.15, for a total value of $79,778.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 154,178 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,952,508.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total transaction of $500,040.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,583,520. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 33,334 shares of company stock valued at $655,765 in the last 90 days. 3.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have weighed in on LEVI. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Friday, September 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.25.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.