Sheets Smith Wealth Management Purchases 300 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,050 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 300 shares during the quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,431,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its position in 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 last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.3 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $12.46 during trading on Friday, reaching $304.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,104,285 shares, compared to its average volume of 809,075. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The stock has a market cap of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.72. The business’s 50-day moving average is $281.84 and its 200 day moving average is $223.06.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.