Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Bokf Na

BOKF NA reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,119 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 18,441 shares during the period. BOKF NA's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,523,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded down $0.57 during trading on Friday, hitting $160.32. The stock had a trading volume of 989,096 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,055,093. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The company's 50-day moving average price is $157.92 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.79.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.