Grant Private Wealth Management Inc Buys New Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Grant Private Wealth Management Inc purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,642 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 83.6% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 21,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,325,000 after purchasing an additional 9,771 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth approximately $369,000. Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 36.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 2,441 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 657 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 639.1% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 115,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $17,893,000 after buying an additional 99,883 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Investment Management Corp of Ontario grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.3% in the 3rd quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 31,890 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,940,000 after buying an additional 16,795 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was 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 owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $164.99 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $174.01. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. 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 note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.60.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.