Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 56,675 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,763 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises about 0.8% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management owned about 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $11,436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,155,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $530,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $1.74 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $283.42. The stock had a trading volume of 196,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,305. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78. The business’s fifty day moving average is $274.09 and its 200 day moving average is $216.87. The firm has a market cap of $18.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.70.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

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.