Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. Acquires 320 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Greatmark Investment Partners Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,219 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the quarter. Greatmark Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,457,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.2 %

WSM traded up $3.33 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $285.49. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 323,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,004,280. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.44 and a 1 year high of $319.78. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $275.21 and its 200-day moving average is $218.52.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. 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 three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.