Nuveen Asset Management LLC Sells 146,220 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 42.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 197,968 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 146,220 shares during the quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $3,425,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,824,983 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $152,672,000 after acquiring an additional 133,978 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,673,056 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $115,444,000 after buying an additional 81,435 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 53.7% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,916,568 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $33,157,000 after acquiring an additional 669,624 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 560.0% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,883,995 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $32,593,000 after purchasing an additional 1,598,523 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 15.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,608,253 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $27,823,000 after purchasing an additional 219,546 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Price Performance

NYSE LEVI traded up $0.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $17.29. The company had a trading volume of 393,609 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,180,436. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $16.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $16.93. The company has a market capitalization of $6.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $12.17 and a twelve month high of $24.34.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 24th. This represents a $0.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on LEVI shares. Bank of America raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $18.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $20.45.

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.