Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Has $1.35 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

by · The Markets Daily

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Free Report) by 61.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,305 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,784 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,103 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $791,000 after acquiring an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 140.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $23,123,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 457.9% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,344 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,602,000 after buying an additional 8,490 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 137.4% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 2,536 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.9 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $146.01 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $168.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $172.89. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 76,635 shares of company stock worth $12,609,055 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.93.

Read Our Latest Report on WSM

About Williams-Sonoma

(Free Report)

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.

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