Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $39.77 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 214,751 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $39,768,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned approximately 0.17% of Williams-Sonoma at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $142.63 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $176.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.54. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 16.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.66 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.93.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.