Intrust Bank NA Reduces Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Intrust Bank NA lessened its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 17.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,456 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 314 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $158.75 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $193.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.93.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.