Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Cuts Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp reduced its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 25.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 126,051 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 43,360 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $23,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $164.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.06. The company has a market cap of $20.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of 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 lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on 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. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

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.