OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp Has $2.37 Million Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 25.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,772 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,472 shares during the period. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $49,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Tobam bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of WSM opened at $171.46 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $157.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.54.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.54%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $175.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.78, for a total transaction of $627,120.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,645,590.64. This trade represents a 8.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.