Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Twin Capital Management Inc.

Twin Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,331 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 178 shares during the quarter. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $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 position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $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. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.9 %

WSM opened at $279.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $319.78. The business’s 50 day moving average is $268.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.37.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 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 firm’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 24.71%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. UBS Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.06.

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.