Foster & Motley Inc. Sells 80 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Foster & Motley Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 8,468 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 80 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during 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 period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased 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 worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.1 %

WSM stock opened at $280.38 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $270.39 and its 200 day moving average is $215.02. The stock has a market cap of $18.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 31.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.06.

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.