Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Acquired by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 219,546 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.41% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $27,823,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% in the third 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.4% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in 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. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in 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 worth $26,816,000 after acquiring an additional 20,426 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 20,870 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. The trade was a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $15.70 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $15.44 and a 12-month 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $17.42 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $17.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.20, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. Equities analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were paid a $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 100.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on LEVI. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays dropped 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, January 30th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

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.