Jensen Investment Management Inc. Has $2.88 Million Position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Key Points

• Jensen Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 13.3% during the first quarter, now owning 184,800 shares valued at approximately $2.88 million.
• Levi Strauss & Co. recently reported a quarterly earnings of $0.22 EPS, surpassing analysts’ expectations and achieving a revenue of $1.45 billion for the quarter.
• The company announced a dividend increase to $0.14 per share, up from $0.13, reflecting a significant annualized yield of 2.8%.

Jensen Investment Management Inc. lowered its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 13.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 184,800 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 28,470 shares during the quarter. Jensen Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $2,881,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,883,995 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $32,593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,523 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the first quarter worth $19,779,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 164.4% in the fourth quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 1,312,150 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $22,700,000 after acquiring an additional 815,950 shares during the period. Fund 1 Investments LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at about $11,869,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% in the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $33,157,000 after acquiring an additional 669,624 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on LEVI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $23.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE LEVI traded down $0.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $20.05. 1,693,806 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,509,801. The business's 50-day moving average is $19.11 and its 200-day moving average is $17.56. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $12.17 and a twelve month high of $22.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.13 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 28.75% and a net margin of 6.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were paid a $0.14 dividend. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.90%.

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.