Donoghue Forlines LLC Buys New Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Donoghue Forlines LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 7,116 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,436,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,340 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.8 %

Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $2.51 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $315.94. The stock had a trading volume of 497,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 795,255. The firm's fifty day moving average is $289.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $227.94. The company has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $321.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The company's revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders 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. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $256.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the 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 directly owns 6,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 transaction 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 approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.