Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 117,308 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,475 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.10% of Williams-Sonoma worth $21,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $643,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Westmount Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.9 %

WSM stock traded up $6.12 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $164.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,211,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,983,772. The company's fifty day moving average is $192.02 and its 200-day moving average is $174.07. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $20.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.