Soltis Investment Advisors LLC Sells 7,952 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Soltis Investment Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,411 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,952 shares during the quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,522,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $32,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 229.8% in the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 277 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $16,220,619. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSM. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. TD Cowen increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $249.31.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM traded up $0.69 on Tuesday, reaching $308.94. The stock had a trading volume of 668,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,042,744. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The business's 50-day moving average price is $254.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.49. The stock has a market cap of $19.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

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.

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