Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.

Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 100,734 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,287 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma makes up 2.1% of Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc.'s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest position. Edgemoor Investment Advisors Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of Williams-Sonoma worth $20,326,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the third 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 lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% during the fourth 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 period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were 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 owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock traded down $2.51 during trading on Friday, hitting $315.94. The stock had a trading volume of 497,352 shares, compared to its average volume of 795,255. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $321.47. The company's 50-day moving average price is $289.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. The business's revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.36 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital boosted their target price 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. StockNews.com downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.