Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 5,121 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Van ECK Associates Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,527 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,121 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,958,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large 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 valued at $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in 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 purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 4.3 %

WSM traded up $12.46 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $304.70. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,104,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 809,075. The stock has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $281.84 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.06. 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 released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 31.02%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.19.

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.