Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Sells 496 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC decreased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 30,180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 496 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,589,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 76.4% in the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 94,973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $14,713,000 after purchasing an additional 41,138 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 63.9% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 5,648 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $875,000 after buying an additional 2,201 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 241.8% during the third quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 5,743 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $890,000 after buying an additional 4,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 117.1% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 159,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $24,682,000 after acquiring an additional 85,941 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $158.75 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $193.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.54. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change 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 yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Wedbush cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Finally, UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.93.

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.