Edmp Inc. Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Edmp Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $55,499,000. Holocene Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $56,497,000. Steadfast Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $50,715,000. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 24.1% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,408,911 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $204,292,000 after purchasing an additional 273,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,782,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $201.92, for a total value of $4,038,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 525,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $106,110,777.28. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction 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 approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 61,145 shares of company stock valued at $16,220,619. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $3.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $309.41. 540,914 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,437,761. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $109.44 and a 1-year high of $319.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $251.97 and a 200-day moving average of $203.46. The stock has a market cap of $19.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $249.31.

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.