SFE Investment Counsel Trims Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

SFE Investment Counsel lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 11.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,924 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 4,153 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma makes up approximately 1.6% of SFE Investment Counsel's portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,240,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,632,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $226,287,000 after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM traded down $2.48 during trading on Thursday, hitting $279.69. 777,750 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,035,679. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $268.14 and a two-hundred day moving average of $212.37. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The firm has a market cap of $17.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were 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 is available through this link. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were 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 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $248.06.

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.