Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 260,300 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 49.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 263,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 260,300 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned approximately 0.21% of Williams-Sonoma worth $48,817,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,635 shares of company stock valued at $12,609,055 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $1.58 on Monday, reaching $152.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,260,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,060,862. The business's fifty day moving average price is $165.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.33. The company has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.06.

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.