Vanguard Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,832,748 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 220,921 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 10.42% of Williams-Sonoma worth $2,376,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $214,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $16,925,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 309,131 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $57,245,000 after purchasing an additional 19,727 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,072,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 141.8% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 561 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.93.
View Our Latest Research Report on WSM
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Williams-Sonoma Price Performance
Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $0.93 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $158.05. 2,071,799 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,983,838. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $193.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.97.
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 return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate 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 paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.
About Williams-Sonoma
(
Free Report)
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.
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