Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 41.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 103,211 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 30,082 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Williams-Sonoma worth $19,113,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 82.3% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 186,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $34,758,000 after purchasing an additional 84,119 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $682,000. DnB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 22,529 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,172,000 after buying an additional 636 shares during the period. Level Four Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 35,367 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,549,000 after buying an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Finally, denkapparat Operations GmbH acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $227,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.4 %

NYSE:WSM traded up $0.70 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $158.80. 1,603,702 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,982,200. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.07.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.60.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.