Twin Capital Management Inc. Purchases 811 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Twin Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 811 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $20,251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $97,875,000 after purchasing an additional 172,409 shares during the period. National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $58,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $723,000 after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $141.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.12. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.93.

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.