8,190 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Purchased by Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations

Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 8,190 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,517,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $171,239,000 after purchasing an additional 565,745 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.60.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:WSM traded up $2.03 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $160.13. 422,539 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,115,093. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $193.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.97. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. 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 is 29.30%.

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.