Unique Wealth Strategies LLC Acquires Shares of 3,025 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Unique Wealth Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,025 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 27.8% during the fourth quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the third quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Four 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded up $0.48 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $282.16. The company had a trading volume of 484,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,698. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $275.21 and a 200-day moving average price of $218.13. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $319.78. The firm has a market cap of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. 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.