Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Makes New Investment in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 415,045 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock, valued at approximately $7,180,000. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV owned approximately 0.10% of Levi Strauss & Co. as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 11.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 166,736 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $3,635,000 after buying an additional 16,785 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,230,069 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $26,816,000 after purchasing an additional 20,426 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 678.9% in the fourth quarter. Matrix Trust Co now owns 5,507 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 4,800 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 32.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,103 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 114,442 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $1,980,000 after buying an additional 892 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI stock traded up $0.42 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $16.59. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,960,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,456. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 52 week low of $12.17 and a 52 week high of $24.34. The company has a market cap of $6.57 billion, a PE ratio of 31.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.57 and a 200-day moving average of $16.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.13%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.43%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Company Profile

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.