Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Victory Capital Management Inc.

Victory Capital Management Inc. lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 36.5% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 148,965 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 85,759 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $30,058,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,155,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the third quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 3,413 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $530,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,340 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $674,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $301.56 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.44 and a 1 year high of $319.78. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.13.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.02%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com cut Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $256.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the business’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 of the company’s stock, valued at $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.