Ameriprise Financial Inc. Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Ameriprise Financial Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 25.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 372,971 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 130,621 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Williams-Sonoma worth $69,067,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 7,564 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $20,251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $58,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 114,047 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $20,728,000 after buying an additional 6,757 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSM. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $175.94.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $0.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $174.58. 1,779,240 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,061,583. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $157.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.56. The company has a market cap of $21.46 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its 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. 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 period last year, the business posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.