Rodgers Brothers Inc. Has $27.14 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Rodgers Brothers Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 146,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,095 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for about 3.5% of Rodgers Brothers Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Rodgers Brothers Inc. owned 0.12% of Williams-Sonoma worth $27,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $158.75 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $193.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

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

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.