Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by GS Investments Inc.

GS Investments Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,956 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,898 shares during the period. GS Investments Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,288,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,641,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,837,000 after buying an additional 21,200 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.53.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $166.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $198.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $171.88.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.98%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.