Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Invests $7.58 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 40,904 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $7,579,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $3,682,000. Pitcairn Co. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,470 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,198,000 after buying an additional 1,071 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $1,536,000. Grant Private Wealth Management Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $489,000. Finally, Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 2,634 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $488,000 after acquiring an additional 297 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65 % 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of 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. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $179.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.82. The stock has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a PE ratio of 17.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.46 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective 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. Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.93.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.