Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Tidal Investments LLC

Tidal Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 47.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,460 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,078 shares during the quarter. Tidal Investments LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,196,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

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

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.6%

NYSE WSM opened at $157.79 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.40 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.06.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.