Providence Wealth Advisors LLC Invests $201,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,010 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $165.46 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.12. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.57, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.