Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by American Trust

American Trust decreased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) by 18.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,486 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 545 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $276,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $28,000. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Tobam acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, Clearstead Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4,416.7% in the second quarter. Clearstead Advisors LLC now owns 542 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 530 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.49% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.6 %

WSM opened at $116.86 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.78 billion, a PE ratio of 7.08, a PEG ratio of 0.88 and a beta of 1.62. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $101.58 and a twelve month high of $176.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $126.71 and its 200 day moving average price is $125.28.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 16th. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.48% and a return on equity of 83.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be issued a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.08%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 20th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 18.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Cowen decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 18th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $145.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Monday, November 28th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.47.

About Williams-Sonoma

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.