Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) Position Lessened by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 31.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 570,384 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 258,610 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.14% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $9,434,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 9,541 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $130,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. during the third quarter worth $195,000. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Levi Strauss & Co. in the fourth quarter valued at $215,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the third quarter valued at $225,000. Finally, Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. raised its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cutter & CO Brokerage Inc. now owns 17,000 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on LEVI. TheStreet raised shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 13th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $20.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Levi Strauss & Co. has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.56.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Levi Strauss & Co. news, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 23,041 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total transaction of $461,050.41. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Tracy Layney sold 15,894 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.02, for a total value of $270,515.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 41,468 shares in the company, valued at $705,785.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Bradley J. Haas sold 23,041 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.01, for a total value of $461,050.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 267,212 shares of company stock worth $5,437,220 over the last three months. 3.14% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Levi Strauss & Co. Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of LEVI stock traded up $0.09 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.25. 2,757,540 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,562,210. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $19.70 and a 200 day moving average of $17.19. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $12.41 and a 1 year high of $22.40. The firm has a market cap of $8.85 billion, a PE ratio of 71.52, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.19.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 3rd. The blue-jean maker reported $0.26 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.05. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 2.05% and a return on equity of 20.68%. The firm had revenue of $1.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.55 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.34 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co.'s revenue for the quarter was down 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 9th will be given a dividend of $0.12 per share. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 8th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 154.84%.

Levi Strauss & Co. Profile

Levi Strauss & Co designs, markets, and sells apparels and related accessories for men, women, and children worldwide. The company offers jeans, casual and dress pants, activewears, tops, shorts, skirts, dresses, jumpsuits, shirts, sweaters, jackets, footwear, and related accessories under the Levi's, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co, Denizen, and Beyond Yoga brands.