American Century Companies Inc. Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 309,131 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 19,727 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.25% of Williams-Sonoma worth $57,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wedbush dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.93.

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Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $5.67 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $158.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,284,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,983,486. The firm's 50-day moving average is $193.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. 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%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.