Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Has $19.11 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 41.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 103,211 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 30,082 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.08% of Williams-Sonoma worth $19,113,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $20,251,000 after acquiring an additional 5,337 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $97,875,000 after acquiring an additional 172,409 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $58,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.2 %

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $3.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $141.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,801,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,695. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $188.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wedbush cut their target price 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. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.93.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 over the last ninety days. Corporate 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.