Pathstone Holdings LLC Decreases Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Pathstone Holdings LLC decreased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,088 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,042 shares during the quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,979,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $119,516,000 after acquiring an additional 24,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 563,058 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $104,267,000 after acquiring an additional 31,754 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $174.02 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The business’s fifty day moving average is $156.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.10.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. Barclays increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $175.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $6,572,715.72. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.