2,106 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Bought by Neo Ivy Capital Management

Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 2,106 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut 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 report on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded up $8.67 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $166.52. 2,573,252 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,038,397. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.05. The firm has a market cap of $20.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.