Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Tabor Asset Management LP

Tabor Asset Management LP reduced its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 36.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,015 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 22,942 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 3.5% of Tabor Asset Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest position. Tabor Asset Management LP's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Mariner LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,079,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $131.00 to $166.00 in a research report on Monday. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 4.2%

NYSE WSM traded down $6.99 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $160.93. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,665,986 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,069,822. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.89. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a PE ratio of 19.03, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.64%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

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.