Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI Shares Purchased by Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.6% in Q4, buying 51,521 shares to hold 290,349 shares worth about $6.07 million (≈0.07% of the company).
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target of $26.77, backed by multiple buy ratings and upgrades (e.g., UBS raised its target to $34; Wall Street Zen moved to strong-buy).
• Levi recently beat quarterly expectations with $0.42 EPS vs. $0.37 and revenue of $1.74 billion (up 14.1% YoY), and it pays a quarterly dividend of $0.14 (annualized yield ~2.5%).

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH lifted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 290,349 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after purchasing an additional 51,521 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned about 0.07% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $6,068,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. US Bancorp DE lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 260.5% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,121 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 810 shares during the period. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 140.7% in the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,425 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 833 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 133.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 3,286 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 1,879 shares during the period. LSV Asset Management purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $117,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 6,553 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $151,000 after acquiring an additional 614 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LEVI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $25.00 price target for the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, BTIG Research reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $27.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $26.77.

Insider Buying and Selling at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, SVP David Jedrzejek sold 2,248 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.60, for a total value of $44,060.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 106,818 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,093,632.80. This represents a 2.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 121,767 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.52, for a total transaction of $2,863,959.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 148,757 shares in the company, valued at $3,498,764.64. The trade was a 45.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 274,015 shares of company stock valued at $6,311,221 over the last 90 days. 1.08% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of LEVI opened at $22.83 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $15.32 and a 12-month high of $24.82. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $20.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.69 and a beta of 1.34.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 9.52% and a return on equity of 25.35%. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.65 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was up 14.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd will be given a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.67%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Profile

Levi Strauss & Co is a global apparel company best known for its denim jeans and casual wear. Founded in 1853 in San Francisco by Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss, the company pioneered the modern blue jean with the introduction of rivet-reinforced work pants. Over its more than 160-year history, Levi Strauss has evolved into a lifestyle brand, offering a broad portfolio that includes denim for men, women and children, as well as tops, outerwear, footwear and accessories.

The company's flagship label, Levi's®, is recognized worldwide for its iconic styles such as the 501® Original Fit Jeans, while additional brands, including Dockers®, Target core metric, and Denizen® by Levi's, cater to diverse price points and consumer segments.

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