HighPoint Advisor Group LLC Buys New Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,278 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $237,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 15.8 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $138.99 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.44, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.77.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.