Truist Financial Corp Trims Stake in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Key Points

• Truist Financial Corp cut its stake in Levi Strauss by 64.2% in the fourth quarter, leaving it with 38,088 shares valued at about $790,000.
• Levi Strauss reported a strong quarter, posting $0.42 EPS versus the $0.37 estimate and $1.74 billion in revenue, which also beat expectations and rose 14.1% year over year.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with 12 Buy ratings and 3 Hold ratings; the consensus view is a Moderate Buy with an average price target of $26.69.

Truist Financial Corp lowered its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 64.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,088 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 68,278 shares during the quarter. Truist Financial Corp's holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $790,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 2,268.2% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 238,883 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $5,566,000 after acquiring an additional 228,796 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 8,978,738 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $209,205,000 after acquiring an additional 277,835 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 46.3% in the 3rd quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 238,828 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $5,565,000 after purchasing an additional 75,623 shares in the last quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $39,322,000. Finally, Portolan Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 3rd quarter worth $4,991,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Shares of LEVI opened at $20.99 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.59 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.04. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $16.50 and a one year high of $24.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.58. The stock has a market cap of $8.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.37, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.35.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were issued a $0.14 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.67%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on LEVI shares. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $28.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Monday, May 4th. BTIG Research reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $26.69.

Insider Transactions at Levi Strauss & Co.

In other news, EVP Karyn Hillman sold 38,938 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.91, for a total value of $892,069.58. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 91,522 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,096,769.02. This represents a 29.85% 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. Also, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 121,767 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.52, for a total value 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. This represents a 45.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 270,705 shares of company stock worth $6,286,029 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.08% of the company's stock.

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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