Martin Capital Advisors LLP Buys 116 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Martin Capital Advisors LLP boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 11,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 2.0% of Martin Capital Advisors LLP’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest holding. Martin Capital Advisors LLP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,570 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. CapWealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $3,075,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 8,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,716,000 after buying an additional 282 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 23.9% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 15,607 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,149,000 after acquiring an additional 3,009 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bison Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $232,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares in the company, valued at $15,185,328.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $0.33 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $279.20. The stock had a trading volume of 744,884 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,031,852. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $268.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. StockNews.com lowered Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Oppenheimer reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.06.

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.