20,868 Shares in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Purchased by Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 20,868 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,151 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $937,000 after buying an additional 1,283 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 67.5% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,090 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $105,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 58.7% during the first quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 8,738 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $136,000 after purchasing an additional 3,231 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:LEVI opened at $16.70 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $16.48 and a 200 day moving average of $16.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $12.17 and a 52 week high of $23.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.12, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.15.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 24th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Bank of America upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $19.00 target price (up from $14.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.45.

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.