FIL Ltd Increases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 66.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,306 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares during the quarter. FIL Ltd's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $983,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $46,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade 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 through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM traded up $1.42 on Friday, hitting $139.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,236,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,842. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given 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 payout ratio is 29.30%.

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.