Alliancebernstein L.P. Reduces Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 175,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 8,956 shares during the quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $32,555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.93.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $141.94 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s fifty day moving average is $188.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.12.

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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend 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.