Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Decreases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,960 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 494 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,548,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 4.1 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $170.32 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.63 and its 200-day simple moving average is $172.90.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.