Xponance Inc. Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Xponance Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,570 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,729,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Finally, Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.06.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.7 %

WSM opened at $285.02 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78. The company has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $271.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $215.93.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 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 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

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.