Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $28.35 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Gotham Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 56.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 153,070 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 55,229 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 0.3% of Gotham Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $28,346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 135.1% during the 4th quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 4,805 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,761 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 88,672 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $16,420,000 after purchasing an additional 559 shares during the period. Ethic Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 257.6% during the 4th quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 7,353 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 5,297 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 380,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $70,398,000 after buying an additional 27,176 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,234 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,451,000 after buying an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $160.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.79.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. 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 quarter last year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total transaction of $129,646.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $6,572,715.72. The trade was a 1.93 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma 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.