Truist Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Truist Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 4,101.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 138,004 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 134,719 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp owned 0.22% of Williams-Sonoma worth $27,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $51,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $248.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of 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. Insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded up $0.51 on Tuesday, reaching $286.91. The company had a trading volume of 765,906 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,916. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $277.68 and a 200 day simple moving average of $220.28. The company has a market cap of $18.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share 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 the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

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.