CapWealth Advisors LLC Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

CapWealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 15,238 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,075,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 863.6% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was 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 directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM traded up $3.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $284.64. 335,360 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,029,395. The company has a fifty day moving average of $266.86 and a 200 day moving average of $211.90. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $319.78. The company has a market capitalization of $18.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a positive change 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 1.59%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.71%.

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.