Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,676 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 203 shares during the quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $97,875,000 after buying an additional 172,409 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $58,616,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at $1,958,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % 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 corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 4.1 %

WSM opened at $170.32 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $196.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $172.90. The stock has a market cap of $20.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price 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 cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.