Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 4,433 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. reduced its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 16,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,433 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,893,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 210.0% in the fourth quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 44.7% during the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares during the period. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $47,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 161.0% during the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, FourThought Financial LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 33.8% during the third quarter. FourThought Financial LLC now owns 582 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. 99.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $112.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.85, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.61. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $101.58 and a one year high of $176.89. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $121.48.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, March 16th. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 80.17% and a net margin of 13.00%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.42 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 21st will be given a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 20th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 21.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $205.00 to $185.00 in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $130.00 in a report on Friday, March 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $126.76.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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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.