Greenleaf Trust Purchases 204 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 6.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,192 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $644,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 38.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 322 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $51,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of WSM opened at $280.13 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $270.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.02. The stock has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $319.78.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total transaction of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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.