Vest Financial LLC Has $20.37 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Vest Financial LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 32.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,833 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 61,846 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.10% of Williams-Sonoma worth $20,368,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $119,516,000 after buying an additional 24,741 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after acquiring an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WSM. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $628,440.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,031,138.68. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $157.79. The stock had a trading volume of 1,291,913 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,011,426. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.27. The company 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. 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 released 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. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.66 dividend. 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 was Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.