Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC

Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 17.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 6,387 shares during the period. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,635 shares of company stock valued at $12,609,055 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $153.28 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The firm's fifty day moving average is $163.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.25.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.72%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

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.

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