Sapient Capital LLC Makes New $202,000 Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 1,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth about $153,000. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 11.7% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 7,270 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,130,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 8.4% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 119,670 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $18,597,000 after purchasing an additional 9,239 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $320,000. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 12,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,958,000 after buying an additional 1,500 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction 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 approximately $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $301.56 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.44 and a 12 month high of $319.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.72. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $284.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $225.13.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted 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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 31.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $256.19.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.