Evexia Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Evexia Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 54,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,194 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma makes up about 3.5% of Evexia Wealth LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Evexia Wealth LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $10,158,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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 owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % 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 worth $20,616,369 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 3.9 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $139.41 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $183.80 and its 200 day moving average is $173.77.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors 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 1.89%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.93.

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.