Pensionfund Sabic Invests $1.14 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Pensionfund Sabic acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 6,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,143,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 111.8% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 130.8% in the second quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Triumph Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 66.7% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 220 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 6th. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Evercore set a $215.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.56.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $182.00 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 1.64. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.07 and a 52 week high of $222.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $202.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.28 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total value of $157,357.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 55,767 shares of company stock worth $11,076,808. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.