Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Purchased by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 274.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 33,657 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after buying an additional 24,669 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $734,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in LEVI. FMR LLC raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.6% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 9,420,007 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $205,356,000 after acquiring an additional 2,907,099 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 4,274,326 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $82,409,000 after buying an additional 756,926 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,083.0% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,923,206 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $37,079,000 after buying an additional 1,835,107 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,070.8% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,431,518 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $27,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,365,574 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 6,794.9% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,244,873 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $24,001,000 after acquiring an additional 1,226,818 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $17.37 on Friday. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52-week low of $14.87 and a 52-week high of $24.34. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $17.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $19.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 45.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 2nd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.33 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $1.52 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.55 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 24.43% and a net margin of 2.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.28 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 29th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 136.84%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 25,002 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.00, for a total value of $500,040.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 229,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,583,520. The trade was a 9.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEVI has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $21.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $26.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $22.75.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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.