Crestline Management LP Sells 1,158 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Crestline Management LP lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 48.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,247 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,158 shares during the quarter. Crestline Management LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $231,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $46,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Tobam acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $55,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $160.32 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $157.92 and a 200 day moving average of $174.29. The stock has a market cap of $19.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 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 Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wedbush decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $175.94.

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.