Aviva PLC Sells 84,288 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Aviva PLC trimmed its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 27.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 217,289 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 84,288 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.18% of Williams-Sonoma worth $40,238,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $0.19 on Friday, reaching $147.70. 529,099 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,056,457. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.67.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omni-channel specialty retailer of various products for home. It offers cooking, dining, and entertaining products, such as cookware, tools, electrics, cutlery, tabletop and bar, outdoor, furniture, and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma lifestyle brand; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, table essentials, and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.