Michels Family Financial LLC Takes $844,000 Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Michels Family Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,555 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,424,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,435,000 after buying an additional 7,564 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $20,251,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $58,616,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in 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 buying an additional 2,222 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,572,715.72. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $2.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $164.39. 2,083,578 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,038,577. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.44, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on WSM. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One 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's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.06.

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.