Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,252 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $253,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $226,287,000 after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 416,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $84,090,000 after acquiring an additional 11,959 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,861 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $60,118,000 after acquiring an additional 109,533 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% in the third quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 231,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,987,000 after purchasing an additional 2,935 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 229,476 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $35,661,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was 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 $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. 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 ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $282.16 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $319.78. The company has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.21 and its 200-day simple moving average is $217.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. StockNews.com downgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. 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 report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.06.

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.