Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by LRT Capital Management LLC

LRT Capital Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,290 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 743 shares during the quarter. LRT Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Tobam bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,572,715.72. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $160.32 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $157.92 and a 200-day moving average of $174.29.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.