Twin Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Twin Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.8% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 22,231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 811 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,117,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $141.94 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.18 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.12. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’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 value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.