Trek Financial LLC Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Trek Financial LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 21,853 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,047,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after buying an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $290,121,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,403,000 after acquiring an additional 337,564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.2 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $141.94 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $188.18 and a 200 day moving average of $173.93. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the prior 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. As a group, analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $176.93.

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.