Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Takes $610,000 Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,025 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% during 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 last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,725 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,155,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $530,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $0.48 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $282.16. 484,459 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 810,698. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $275.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $218.52. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.44 and a 1 year high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was 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 owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Loop Capital upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus 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.