Berkeley Inc Sells 9,974 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Berkeley Inc reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 49.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,004 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 9,974 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 1.0% of Berkeley Inc's portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Berkeley Inc's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,852,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Atomi Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 7.2% during the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,540 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 42.0% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,607,000 after buying an additional 2,567 shares in the last quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $258,000. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 4,948 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $916,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $2.81 on Friday, reaching $161.70. 2,532,690 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,039,281. The company has a fifty day moving average of $156.05 and a 200-day moving average of $177.35. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its 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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 79,227 shares of company stock valued at $12,962,573. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.