Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 10.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,041 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,432 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $32,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock worth $18,520,913 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $157.79. 1,291,913 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,010,046. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47. The business's 50 day moving average price is $155.87 and its 200-day moving average price is $178.13. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.