Bank of Nova Scotia Takes $1.43 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 12,404 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,425,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 210.0% in the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 44.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 251 shares during the period. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 161.0% in the fourth quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FourThought Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 33.8% in the third quarter. FourThought Financial LLC now owns 582 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $69,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. 99.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $205.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $151.00 to $143.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, March 17th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.76.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $112.16 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $118.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $121.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.85, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.61. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.58 and a 1 year high of $176.89.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 16th. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.60 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 80.17% and a net margin of 13.00%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.42 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.32 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.99%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.