Vanguard Group Inc. Sells 220,921 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Vanguard Group Inc. decreased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,832,748 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 220,921 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 0.10% of Williams-Sonoma worth $2,376,368,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stevens Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $214,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $16,925,000. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 309,131 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $57,245,000 after buying an additional 19,727 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,072,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 141.8% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 329 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’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 directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $165.46 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.51 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.12. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.93.

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.