Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Has $10.14 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 111.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,745 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 28,880 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $10,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Royal Bank of Canada set a $182.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $1.44 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $160.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,524,201 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,014,049. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $177.96.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company 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%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current 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. 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 1.65%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.