Goodman Advisory Group LLC Sells 4,494 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Goodman Advisory Group LLC cut its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 34.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,686 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,494 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $55,499,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,497,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,715,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,292,000 after purchasing an additional 273,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,782,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $5.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $282.55. 1,231,111 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 849,937. The company has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.70. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $265.33 and a 200-day moving average price of $211.40. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.44 and a 12 month high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. Insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on WSM shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

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.