Victory Capital Management Inc. Acquires 136,892 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 74.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 320,363 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after acquiring an additional 136,892 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $4,994,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of LEVI. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 101.5% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,210 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 35.4% in the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 3,109 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 812 shares in the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $57,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter worth approximately $82,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 67.5% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 6,090 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. 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. 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. 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, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $23.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 0.6%

LEVI opened at $20.45 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $18.66 and a 200-day moving average price of $17.39. Levi Strauss & Co. has a twelve month low of $12.17 and a twelve month high of $22.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.04, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.15.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 10th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.16 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 8th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.14 per share. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.'s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.90%.

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.

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