Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Invests $1.02 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 5,526 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,023,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $825,588,000 after buying an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.8 %

NYSE:WSM traded down $1.24 on Friday, hitting $146.65. The stock had a trading volume of 679,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,057,010. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The business's fifty day moving average is $180.43 and its 200 day moving average is $173.67. The company has a market cap of $18.11 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost 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 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WSM. Wedbush cut 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. Barclays upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.93.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.