Moody Aldrich Partners LLC Has $1.88 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Moody Aldrich Partners LLC lowered its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 35.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,307 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,190 shares during the quarter. Moody Aldrich Partners LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,878,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,499,000. Holocene Advisors LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $56,497,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,715,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,911 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $204,292,000 after purchasing an additional 273,424 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,782,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $249.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $16,220,619 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $15.75 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $293.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,288,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,046,617. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $258.27 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.29. The firm has a market cap of $18.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.70. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.44 and a fifty-two week high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 24.71%.

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.