First Trust Advisors LP Has $1.50 Million Stake in Levi Strauss & Co. $LEVI

First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) by 141.6% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 81,396 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock after buying an additional 47,706 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP’s holdings in Levi Strauss & Co. were worth $1,505,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of LEVI. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,320,747 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock worth $193,312,000 after buying an additional 342,009 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 462.4% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 4,839,861 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $89,489,000 after buying an additional 3,979,223 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Levi Strauss & Co. by 44.0% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,243,680 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $88,014,000 after buying an additional 1,296,474 shares during the last quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,457,702 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $80,564,000 after acquiring an additional 294,053 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GW&K Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 2,219,599 shares of the blue-jean maker’s stock valued at $46,034,000 after acquiring an additional 531,963 shares in the last quarter. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

NYSE:LEVI opened at $24.40 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $9.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.06, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.33. Levi Strauss & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $17.72 and a fifty-two week high of $25.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.10.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 8th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.24 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.52 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.79% and a net margin of 9.66%.Levi Strauss & Co.’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.22 earnings per share. Levi Strauss & Co. has set its FY 2026 guidance at 1.460-1.520 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 22nd were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 22nd. This is a boost from Levi Strauss & Co.’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. Levi Strauss & Co.’s dividend payout ratio is presently 39.51%.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder E. Haas Jr. Family Fund Peter sold 145,662 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.01, for a total transaction of $3,497,344.62. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 145,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,344.62. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Harmit J. Singh sold 98,144 shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.22, for a total transaction of $2,377,047.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 98,747 shares in the company, valued at $2,391,652.34. This trade represents a 49.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,296,009 shares of company stock worth $30,227,170. Insiders own 1.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LEVI. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $33.00 to $34.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. UBS Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $34.00 target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $27.43.

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.