Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Lowers Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lowered its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,360 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 300 shares during the period. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $274,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 46,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,915,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares during the period. Aviva PLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 14,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after purchasing an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1,415.9% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSM. UBS Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $249.31.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.92, for a total value of $4,038,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 525,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,110,777.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $10,044,174 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.0 %

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $3.11 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $317.13. The stock had a trading volume of 475,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,065,022. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $237.47 and its 200 day moving average is $195.61. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $319.70.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 24.71%.

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.