263 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Purchased by Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 263 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $53,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% in the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,155,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% in the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% in the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $281.70 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $319.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $274.09 and its 200 day moving average is $216.87. The company has a market cap of $18.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase 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 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $248.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 have sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.