Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 19,882 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $3,682,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third 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 acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of WSM traded down $2.72 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $136.49. 1,004,386 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,043,538. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.86 billion, a PE ratio of 16.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.80 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.77. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Remove Ads

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.