KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Makes New $704,000 Investment in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 40,700 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $704,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of LEVI. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,998 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $16,383,000 after acquiring an additional 152,590 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $832,000. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $511,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $1,415,000. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 valued at $205,356,000 after purchasing an additional 2,907,099 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $23.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 4.9 %

Shares of NYSE:LEVI opened at $16.36 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 31.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $15.42 and a 1 year high of $24.34. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $17.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $17.78.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.48 by $0.02. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. Analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 12th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 12th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 100.00%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This trade represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.25% of the company’s stock.

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.