BTC Capital Management Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

BTC Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 11.6% during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,441 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,715 shares during the period. BTC Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Guyasuta Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth approximately $223,000. Isthmus Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth $270,000. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 104.5% in the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 16,547 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $319,000 after buying an additional 8,457 shares in the last quarter. Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the first quarter worth about $330,000. Finally, Vista Investment Partners LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 2nd quarter worth about $343,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on LEVI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $20.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 27th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $26.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $24.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 24th. OTR Global began coverage on Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Friday, June 14th. They issued a “positive” rating on the stock. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $23.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In related news, Director David A. Friedman sold 16,666 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.94, for a total transaction of $398,984.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 166,676 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,990,223.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.05, for a total transaction of $2,405,000.00. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director David A. Friedman sold 16,666 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.94, for a total value of $398,984.04. Following the transaction, the director now owns 166,676 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,990,223.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 124,998 shares of company stock worth $2,960,626 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.14% of the company’s stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 2.1 %

LEVI stock traded up $0.39 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $19.38. The company had a trading volume of 295,300 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,316,290. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $19.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $19.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 1.42. The company has a market capitalization of $7.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.16. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.41 and a fifty-two week high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, June 26th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.34% and a return on equity of 23.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.45 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.04 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd will be issued a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is 148.57%.

Levi Strauss & Co. 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.