Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Holdings Cut by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 227,764 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 19,479 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.19% of Williams-Sonoma worth $42,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSM. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $758,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wedbush reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.93.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, 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 transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $141.94 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $17.53 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $188.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.75.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

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.