LSV Asset Management Has $27.75 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

LSV Asset Management trimmed its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 26.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,510 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 49,864 shares during the quarter. LSV Asset Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $27,747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 171.0% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 1,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.0% during the fourth quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 46,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,443,000 after acquiring an additional 4,651 shares during the period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $274,000. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 7,097 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,432,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $674,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 15th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.3 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $304.70 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $281.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $223.06.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.