Prudential Financial Inc. Sells 2,148 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Prudential Financial Inc. lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 4.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,761 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,148 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $9,215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 76.4% during the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 94,973 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $14,713,000 after purchasing an additional 41,138 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 63.9% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,648 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $875,000 after acquiring an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 241.8% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,743 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $890,000 after purchasing an additional 4,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 117.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 159,320 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $24,682,000 after purchasing an additional 85,941 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.60.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM traded down $28.41 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $136.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,704,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,121,732. The stock's 50-day moving average is $191.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.01. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. 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 (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.