Twin Capital Management Inc. Sells 178 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Twin Capital Management Inc. lessened its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,331 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Twin Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CapWealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,075,000. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,716,000 after buying an additional 282 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 23.9% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,607 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,149,000 after buying an additional 3,009 shares during the period. Bison Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $232,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $1,249,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $279.69 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $268.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.37. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $319.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.06.

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.