Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Major Shareholder Bradley J. Haas Sells 85,985 Shares

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 85,985 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.06, for a total transaction of $1,896,829.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Bradley J. Haas also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, April 4th, Bradley J. Haas sold 14,015 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.05, for a total value of $309,030.75.
• On Monday, April 1st, Bradley J. Haas sold 26,959 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.14, for a total transaction of $542,954.26.
• On Thursday, March 28th, Bradley J. Haas sold 23,041 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $461,050.41.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of LEVI traded down $0.29 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $21.77. 1,436,693 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,598,178. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $8.67 billion, a PE ratio of 71.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $18.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $16.66. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $12.41 and a twelve month high of $22.39.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 3rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.34 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be paid a $0.12 dividend. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.20%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 154.84%.

Institutional Trading of Levi Strauss & Co.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Hunter Perkins Capital Management LLC now owns 26,950 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $539,000 after buying an additional 9,325 shares during the last quarter. Waycross Investment Management Co increased its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 14.1% during the first quarter. Waycross Investment Management Co now owns 37,240 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $744,000 after acquiring an additional 4,608 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 10.1% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 94,237 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $1,884,000 after buying an additional 8,652 shares during the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the first quarter worth about $330,000. Finally, BTC Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the first quarter worth $294,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

LEVI has been the topic of several recent research reports. 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 report on Monday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $20.56.

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.