Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Decreases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 39.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 60,018 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 39,273 shares during the quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $11,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.93.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction 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 represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $158.75 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $193.93 and its 200 day moving average is $173.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

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.