Capital Research Global Investors Has $171.43 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Capital Research Global Investors lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 44.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 925,762 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 741,516 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned 0.75% of Williams-Sonoma worth $171,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $91,779,000 after acquiring an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in 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. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 76,635 shares of company stock valued at $12,609,055 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1 %

WSM stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $151.24. 1,391,800 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,282,521. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.90. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.06.

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.