Prudential Financial Inc. Decreases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.1% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 49,761 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,148 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $9,215,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 76.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 94,973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,713,000 after acquiring an additional 41,138 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 63.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $875,000 after purchasing an additional 2,201 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $28,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 241.8% in the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 4,063 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 117.1% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 159,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $24,682,000 after buying an additional 85,941 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of WSM opened at $158.75 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $193.93 and a 200-day moving average of $173.54.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.93.

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.