SFE Investment Counsel Sells 4,153 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

SFE Investment Counsel reduced its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,924 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,153 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises approximately 1.6% of SFE Investment Counsel’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $530,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Cooper Financial Group increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 2,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $411,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Loop Capital boosted their price target 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. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $0.58 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $280.46. The company had a trading volume of 497,958 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,031,693. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $319.78. The firm has a market cap of $17.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $266.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.90.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 24.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.