Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $15.35 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. trimmed its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 60.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,816 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 128,874 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.07% of Williams-Sonoma worth $15,347,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 valued at $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 buying an additional 337,564 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $3.12 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $145.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,678,152 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,062,945. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.17, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.22 and a 200-day simple moving average of $173.82.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.82%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.93.

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.