Trek Financial LLC Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Trek Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 21,853 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $4,047,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in 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 period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird raised 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. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.93.

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Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $147.75. 739,169 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,057,289. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $180.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.67. The firm has a market cap of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.66 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

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.