Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.5% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 253,824 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 57,776 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $47,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $151.24 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $165.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,635 shares of company stock worth $12,609,055 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by 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.