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

Bank of America Corp DE trimmed its stake in Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Free Report) by 67.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in 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 period. Bank of America Corp DE owned 0.08% of Levi Strauss & Co. worth $5,448,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 19.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 946,998 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $16,383,000 after acquiring an additional 152,590 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV purchased a new position in Levi Strauss & Co. during the fourth quarter valued at $7,180,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. during the 4th quarter valued at $511,000. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. by 55.6% in the 4th quarter. Savoir Faire Capital Management L.P. now owns 188,714 shares of the blue-jean maker's stock worth $3,265,000 after buying an additional 67,401 shares during the period. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in the 4th quarter worth about $1,415,000. Institutional investors own 69.14% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on LEVI shares. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. from $20.00 to $22.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Levi Strauss & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $19.00 to $17.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Levi Strauss & Co. from $19.00 to $21.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of 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. Finally, Citigroup restated a "neutral" rating and set a $19.00 price objective (up from $14.00) on shares of Levi Strauss & Co. in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $20.45.

Levi Strauss & Co. Stock Performance

Levi Strauss & Co. stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.35. 2,181,443 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,178,663. Levi Strauss & Co. has a 12-month low of $12.17 and a 12-month high of $24.34. The business's 50-day moving average is $16.03 and its 200-day moving average is $16.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.42 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.87 billion, a PE ratio of 33.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.14.

Levi Strauss & Co. (NYSE:LEVI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The blue-jean maker reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.28 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $1.53 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Levi Strauss & Co. had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 25.88%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.26 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Levi Strauss & Co. will post 1.27 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Levi Strauss & Co. Dividend Announcement

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

About Levi Strauss & Co.

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.