Sei Investments Co. Has $6.14 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sei Investments Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 28.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 33,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 13,309 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,138,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $643,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $758,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $158.05 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $193.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.97.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

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.