Renaissance Technologies LLC Increases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 64.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned about 0.80% of Williams-Sonoma worth $183,273,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $369,000. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 122.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 392 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 147.7% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 26,511 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,107,000 after buying an additional 15,807 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at approximately $387,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.93.

Remove Ads

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 120,720 shares of company stock valued at $21,828,609. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $147.95. The company had a trading volume of 1,802,890 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,064,483. The company has a market capitalization of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $179.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.30%.

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.