Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 85,759 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 36.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 148,965 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 85,759 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned 0.23% of Williams-Sonoma worth $30,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 425.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $15,751,000 after purchasing an additional 63,200 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $3,632,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. 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 Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 90 days, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of WSM traded up $3.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $304.94. The stock had a trading volume of 483,959 shares, compared to its average volume of 991,294. The company has a market capitalization of $19.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The company's 50-day moving average is $286.22 and its 200 day moving average is $225.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The firm 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%. The business's revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.48%. This is a positive change 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 (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $256.19.

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.