Bragg Financial Advisors Inc Buys 231,270 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Bragg Financial Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 36.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 865,790 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after buying an additional 231,270 shares during the quarter. Bragg Financial Advisors Inc owned 0.22% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $14,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of LEVI. KBC Group NV raised its stake 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 valued at $1,980,000 after purchasing an additional 892 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.4% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,151 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $937,000 after purchasing an additional 1,283 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 32.9% during the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,103 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 2,998 shares in the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 3.6 %

LEVI stock traded up $0.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $14.62. The company had a trading volume of 3,609,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,151,455. The stock has a market cap of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.07. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12 month low of $12.17 and a 12 month high of $24.34. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.24.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share 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 firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.56%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently issued reports on LEVI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim raised their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on 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 shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $19.18.

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 that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $76,821.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.25% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. 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.