Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 494 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans decreased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 29,960 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 494 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $170.32 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $196.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.90. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

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.