Natixis Advisors LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,229 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.7% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 30,454 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,718,000 after acquiring an additional 14,816 shares during the period. Pathstone Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% in the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,837,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares during the period. Prospera Financial Services Inc raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 98.9% in the third quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 4,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 2,387 shares during the period. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at $1,416,000. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 68.5% in the third quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $146,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $163.27 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $197.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.32.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on WSM. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.