Fmr LLC Reduces Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

FMR LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 34.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,774,588 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,006,613 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned about 4.69% of Williams-Sonoma worth $1,069,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $20,251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $97,875,000 after purchasing an additional 172,409 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $58,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 2,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $147.95. 1,802,890 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,064,483. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $179.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.82. The firm has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One 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 data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.