Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Sells 25,237 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lessened its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,430,924 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 25,237 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $288,732,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $274,000. Sapient Capital LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% in the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after acquiring an additional 2,128 shares during the period. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 425.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,751,000 after acquiring an additional 63,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The sale 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 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 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $304.94 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $286.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $225.69. The company has a market cap of $19.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.93, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors 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 yield of 1.48%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $256.19.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.