Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Holdings Decreased by Mcrae Capital Management Inc.

Mcrae Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 98,146 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 240 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma comprises about 5.0% of Mcrae Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest holding. Mcrae Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.15% of Williams-Sonoma worth $19,804,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $226,287,000 after acquiring an additional 18,004 shares in the last quarter. Precedent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $1,217,000. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $54,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,329 shares of company stock valued at $10,729,906 in the last ninety days. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on WSM. Morgan Stanley raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $249.31.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $2.60 on Monday, reaching $314.93. 1,002,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,067,547. The company has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 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. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $241.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $198.08.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, equities 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 declared 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 of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 24.71%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.