The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 4.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 91,069 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,904 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.07% of Williams-Sonoma worth $16,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded up $3.29 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $157.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,434,535 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,052,809. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $159.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.61. The stock has a market cap of $19.39 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's 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 trade represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.