Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,177 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,780 shares during the quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,440,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $158.75 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $193.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.54. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders 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 1.66%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 position. 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 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.93.

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.