O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Lowers Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) by 49.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 20,250 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.9% in the first quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 46,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,915,000 after acquiring an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 14,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1,415.9% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $292,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.49% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $126.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $151.00 to $143.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, March 17th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $114.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.18.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $111.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $117.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.31. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $106.66 and a fifty-two week high of $176.89. The company has a market cap of $7.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.61.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $2.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.23. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 72.68% and a net margin of 12.07%. The business had revenue of $1.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be issued a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 23.65%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.