Comerica Bank Has $8.24 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Comerica Bank decreased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 44,479 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,244 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $8,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $290,121,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during 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 grew its stake 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 worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 563,058 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $104,267,000 after purchasing an additional 31,754 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several research reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE WSM traded up $3.29 on Wednesday, reaching $157.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,434,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,809. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.64 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.61. The company has a market capitalization of $19.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business'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 value 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 approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.