Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Gallacher Capital Management LLC

Gallacher Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 35.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 2,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,090 shares during the period. Gallacher Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $409,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. MCF Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $3.59 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $308.29. 694,384 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 997,392. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $281.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $223.06. The firm has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.44 and a 1 year high of $319.78.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

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.