Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Distillate Capital Partners LLC

Distillate Capital Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 59.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 87,550 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 128,360 shares during the period. Distillate Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $16,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $290,121,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,403,000 after purchasing an additional 337,564 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $147.95 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $179.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.66. The company has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research 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 $0.66 dividend. 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609. 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.