Alaska Permanent Fund Corp Cuts Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Alaska Permanent Fund Corp trimmed its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 16.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,100 shares during the quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,128,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted 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 period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. Insiders own 1.60% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.2 %

WSM stock traded up $0.44 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $285.51. The stock had a trading volume of 741,811 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,020,853. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $272.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $216.42. The firm has a market cap of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $319.78.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. TD Cowen raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a "market perform" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $248.06.

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.