Distillate Capital Partners LLC Reduces Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Distillate Capital Partners LLC cut its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 59.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 87,550 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 128,360 shares during the quarter. Distillate Capital Partners LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Williams-Sonoma worth $16,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $418,223,000 after buying an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after acquiring an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $139.04. 1,236,764 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,054,256. The company has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.29.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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 research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.93.

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.