Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 82.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 186,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 84,119 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned 0.15% of Williams-Sonoma worth $34,758,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $20,251,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $97,875,000 after buying an additional 172,409 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $58,616,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,958,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays raised their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.60.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 15.8 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $26.02 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $138.99. 5,651,097 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,998,858. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $191.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $174.01. The company has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. 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 1.90%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % 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 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.