Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock Position Cut by Rodgers Brothers Inc.

Rodgers Brothers Inc. decreased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 146,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,095 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for about 3.5% of Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest position. Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $27,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 76.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 94,973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,713,000 after purchasing an additional 41,138 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 63.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $875,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $171,239,000 after buying an additional 565,745 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.4 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $158.75 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $193.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

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.