Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 10,369 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $1,920,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.53.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $166.20 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $198.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $171.88. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during 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 business’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company 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 fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.98%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.