Van ECK Associates Corp Sells 5,121 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,121 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,958,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $51,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $304.70 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.72. The company’s 50-day moving average is $281.84 and its 200-day moving average is $222.62. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.44 and a fifty-two week high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $256.19.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.