Cynosure Group LLC Sells 743 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Cynosure Group LLC lessened its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 30.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,660 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 743 shares during the quarter. Cynosure Group LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, ORG Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays increased 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. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.60.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $164.99 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $191.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.01. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.38 billion, a PE ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is currently 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.