Bank of Montreal Can Has $709,000 Stock Holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 148.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,960 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after purchasing an additional 24,466 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can's holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 892.3% in the 4th quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 114,472 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $1,980,000 after buying an additional 102,936 shares during the last quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 55.6% in the fourth quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 188,714 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $3,265,000 after purchasing an additional 67,401 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 26,888 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $465,000 after purchasing an additional 5,851 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 47.3% during the 4th quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 746,017 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $12,906,000 after purchasing an additional 239,518 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diametric Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $218,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on LEVI. Barclays dropped their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $18.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Bank of America raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a report on Thursday, April 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $19.18.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

LEVI traded down $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $15.88. 293,973 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,141,804. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $15.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $17.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.17 and a one year high of $24.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. The business had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.26 EPS. Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.13 per share. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, Director David A. Friedman sold 4,166 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total transaction of $76,821.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,012 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,844,221.28. This represents a 4.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 corporate insiders.

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.