Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC Sells 7,042 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 30.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,900 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,042 shares during the period. Wilbanks Smith & Thomas Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,208,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 425.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,751,000 after buying an additional 63,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,632,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WSM stock traded up $3.27 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $286.88. 157,217 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 994,185. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $278.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $220.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.44 and a fifty-two week high of $319.78. The firm has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.06.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.