Evexia Wealth LLC Has $8.16 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Evexia Wealth LLC lessened its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,732 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 694 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises 3.5% of Evexia Wealth LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest position. Evexia Wealth LLC owned 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $8,160,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,218,000 after buying an additional 2,128 shares during the last quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 425.3% during the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,751,000 after acquiring an additional 63,200 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $3,632,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 worth $12,182,219 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, April 3rd. UBS Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 19th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $256.19.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $6.73 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $301.56. 763,260 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 997,055. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $284.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.13. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $319.78. The company has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.72.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.50%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

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.