Chase Investment Counsel Corp Invests $1.21 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Chase Investment Counsel Corp purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,210,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4,101.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 138,004 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $27,846,000 after acquiring an additional 134,719 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 638.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 142,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $22,129,000 after purchasing an additional 123,114 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,861 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $60,118,000 after purchasing an additional 109,533 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 425.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $15,751,000 after purchasing an additional 63,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,785.4% in the third quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 49,699 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,723,000 after buying an additional 47,063 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related 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 value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.5 %

WSM stock traded up $4.19 during trading on Monday, hitting $286.35. The company had a trading volume of 587,818 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,007,831. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $276.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.65, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company 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 $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Barclays increased 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. Four investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.