Formidable Asset Management LLC Trims Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Formidable Asset Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,632 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,078 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,339,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 563,058 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $104,267,000 after purchasing an additional 31,754 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned 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.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.06.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.78, for a total value of $627,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,645,590.64. The trade was a 8.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $157.79 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $156.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.23.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase 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 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.