Cerity Partners LLC Has $2.30 Million Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 53.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,393 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,988 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,299,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut 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 research note on Tuesday. Barclays boosted their price target 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target 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. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $279.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 744,889 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,031,852. The company has a market cap of $17.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $319.78. The business's 50-day moving average is $269.32 and its 200-day moving average is $213.24.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

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.