American Money Management LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

American Money Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 324 shares during the quarter. American Money Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $360,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $158.75 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $193.93 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.54. The firm has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.