Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Shares Sold by Mackenzie Financial Corp

Key Points

• Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.6%, now holding 26,551 shares worth $414,000, while other investors have increased their holdings significantly.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Levi Strauss & Co., with a consensus target price now set at $23.45 and a rating of "Moderate Buy".
• The company reported better-than-expected earnings of $0.22 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates and showing a 6.4% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Mackenzie Financial Corp reduced its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 53.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,551 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 30,728 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp's holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $414,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in LEVI. LPL Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 54,151 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $937,000 after acquiring an additional 1,283 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 26,888 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 5,851 shares during the period. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 55.6% during the 4th quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 188,714 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 67,401 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 40,960 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $709,000 after buying an additional 24,466 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,450,000. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 1.8%

NYSE LEVI traded up $0.37 on Tuesday, hitting $20.59. 290,832 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,530,595. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $12.17 and a fifty-two week high of $22.35. The company has a market cap of $8.15 billion, a PE ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $19.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.58.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 8th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 24th were issued a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 24th. This is a positive change from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $21.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $16.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $23.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $22.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.45.

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.