15,620 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Acquired by Monument Capital Management

Monument Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 15,620 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,152,000. Williams-Sonoma accounts for approximately 1.0% of Monument Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Duality Advisers LP bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,189,000. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. OLD National Bancorp IN grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 56,998 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,501,000 after acquiring an additional 6,698 shares in the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 425.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,751,000 after acquiring an additional 63,200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. Bank of America upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Loop Capital upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective 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 issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $2.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $281.46. 426,933 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,023,617. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78. The company has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a PE ratio of 19.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.69. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $269.32 and a 200 day moving average of $214.11.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

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.