Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Level Four Advisory Services LLC

Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 35,367 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,549,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $164.57 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $20.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $194.81 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.06.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS 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 given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.93.

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.