Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC reduced its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 52.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 101,067 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 110,908 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $18,716,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after buying an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,403,000 after purchasing an additional 337,564 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.60.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $164.99 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $191.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a P/E/G 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 earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

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.