Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Buys New Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 2,642 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after buying an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,403,000 after acquiring an additional 337,564 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.9 %

WSM stock opened at $164.99 on Thursday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $191.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.01. 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 $20.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.60.

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.