Hsbc Holdings PLC Trims Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Hsbc Holdings PLC trimmed its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 49.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 263,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 260,300 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC owned 0.21% of Williams-Sonoma worth $48,817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 7,564 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $20,251,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $97,875,000 after acquiring an additional 172,409 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $58,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $723,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock traded down $1.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.24. 276,227 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,053,806. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $163.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.25. The firm has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the business'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 transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,635 shares of company stock worth $12,609,055. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.06.

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.