Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires Shares of 214,751 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 214,751 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $39,768,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.17% of Williams-Sonoma at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the third 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of 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 period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $96,403,000 after acquiring an additional 337,564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WSM. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM traded up $1.42 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $139.04. 1,236,764 shares of the company were exchanged, 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 firm has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $173.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.18.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS 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. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, 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 have sold 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.