Vinva Investment Management Ltd Buys Shares of 13,756 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,756 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,566,000.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $6,837,000 after purchasing an additional 21,200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

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Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $6.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $170.32. 2,403,059 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,917,784. The company has a market capitalization of $20.97 billion, a PE ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $172.60. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. Sell-side 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued 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 1.55%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wedbush reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.