Teacher Retirement System of Texas Invests $498,000 in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 28,770 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,904.1% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 5,137 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 4,966 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% during the 4th quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at about $105,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $115,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on LEVI shares. Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $22.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup cut their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $21.27.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Down 0.7 %

Levi Strauss & Co. stock opened at $15.59 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.42. The stock has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a PE ratio of 29.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.16. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $17.80. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $15.42 and a one year high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 12th were given a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 12th. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is 100.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.00, for a total value of $74,988.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 104,178 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,875,204. This represents a 3.85 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.