Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock Position Increased by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 71.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,965 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,492 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,435,000 after acquiring an additional 7,564 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $20,251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $97,875,000 after purchasing an additional 172,409 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $58,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $1.42 on Friday, reaching $139.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,236,764 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,058,848. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The stock's 50-day moving average is $172.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.10.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 dividend yield of 1.90%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.