Invesco Ltd. Has $529.80 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Invesco Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,860,978 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 205,936 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. owned 2.32% of Williams-Sonoma worth $529,796,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.93.

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Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of WSM traded down $0.17 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $148.08. 382,074 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,057,958. The company has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $179.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. 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 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.