Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,874 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $807,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during 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 period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $96,403,000 after buying an additional 337,564 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped 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. Finally, Wedbush decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $139.04. The stock had a trading volume of 1,236,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,058,848. The stock's 50 day moving average is $172.42 and its 200 day moving average is $173.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.90%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

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.