Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Has $88.01 Million Position in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 44.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after buying an additional 1,296,474 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $88,014,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 87,628 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,817,000 after buying an additional 16,026 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 59.9% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 275,493 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $5,714,000 after buying an additional 103,214 shares during the period. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $1,449,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC lifted its holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. by 32.7% during the 4th quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 89,880 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $1,864,000 after buying an additional 22,143 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Karyn Hillman sold 38,938 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 91,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,096,769.02. The trade was a 29.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 4,338 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.00, for a total value of $104,112.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,338 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $104,112. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 783,154 shares of company stock worth $17,630,460 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $28.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a report on Monday, May 4th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $27.00 price objective on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, April 1st. Weiss Ratings raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Levi Strauss & Co. presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $26.79.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Up 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:LEVI opened at $23.60 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 1.58 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The business’s 50-day moving average is $21.92 and its 200-day moving average is $21.27. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 1 year low of $16.50 and a 1 year high of $24.82.

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

Levi Strauss & Co. Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, May 6th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 22nd were given a $0.14 dividend. This represents a $0.56 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 22nd. Levi Strauss & Co.’s payout ratio is presently 35.67%.

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.