Xponance Inc. Acquires 77 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Xponance Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,570 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $60,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $530,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 7,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,486,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $285.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.70. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $319.78. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $271.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $215.93.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.50 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

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.