BNP Paribas Financial Markets Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets lessened its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 57,564 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 4,917 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets' holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $10,660,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 563,058 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $104,267,000 after purchasing an additional 31,754 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.78, for a total value of $627,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 42,388 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,590.64. This trade represents a 8.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM traded down $2.98 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $171.46. The stock had a trading volume of 1,689,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,061,546. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.56. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $21.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $175.94.

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.