Bank of America Corp DE Sells 667,578 Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI)

Bank of America Corp DE reduced its stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 67.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 314,935 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock after selling 667,578 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.08% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $5,448,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $82,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $105,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $115,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 1,436.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 7,250 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 6,778 shares during the period. 69.14% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $17.35. 2,181,443 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,179,273. Levi Strauss & Co. has a one year low of $12.17 and a one year high of $24.34. The company has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.37, a PEG ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. The company has a 50-day moving average of $16.05 and a 200 day moving average of $16.93.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.10. Levi Strauss & Co. had a return on equity of 25.88% and a net margin of 3.32%. The company had revenue of $1.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 24th were paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 24th. Levi Strauss & Co.'s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on LEVI. Bank of America upgraded Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $17.00 to $20.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Stifel Nicolaus cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $25.00 to $20.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Guggenheim boosted their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Levi Strauss & Co. from $17.00 to $16.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. 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.