Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by FourThought Financial Partners LLC

FourThought Financial Partners LLC cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,093 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 159 shares during the quarter. FourThought Financial Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $624,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 171.0% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $222,000 after acquiring an additional 696 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 46,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,443,000 after purchasing an additional 4,651 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Finally, New York Life Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 7,097 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.3 %

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $12.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $304.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,104,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 809,075. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $281.84 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.62. The stock has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.72.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. 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. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

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.