Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock Holdings Lessened by Motley Fool Asset Management LLC

Motley Fool Asset Management LLC cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 11.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 147 shares during the quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $237,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at about $275,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 61.2% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at approximately $153,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $267,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $282.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $275.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $217.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

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.