Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 12,483 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Wells Fargo & Company MN trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 305,878 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 12,483 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned 0.25% of Williams-Sonoma worth $56,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $139.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50-day moving average is $183.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.77. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.89%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.