Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Sells 5,455 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 10,439 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,455 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after purchasing an additional 147,780 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $443,566,000 after buying an additional 532,995 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $284,532,000 after buying an additional 407,929 shares during the period. Boston Partners acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $254,778,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,888,000 after acquiring an additional 263,027 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This trade represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total value of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. This represents a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 88,451 shares of company stock valued at $16,980,845. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $180.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $21.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $198.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.75. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.07 and a 52-week high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 51.45%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.28 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.83%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on WSM. Evercore set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. TD Cowen cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.56.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.