Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI

Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 8,712 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,796 shares during the quarter. Parsons Capital Management Inc. RI’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,758,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $32,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 229.8% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 277 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares during the period. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $6.14 on Tuesday, hitting $308.79. 264,547 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,057,229. The company has a market capitalization of $19.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.61, a PEG 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 company’s fifty day moving average is $244.01 and its 200 day moving average is $199.66.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.71%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday. Loop Capital upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $249.31.

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.