Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Advisory Services Network LLC

Advisory Services Network LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 470.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,212 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,474 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $780,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned 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, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.93.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % 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 three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of WSM stock traded up $1.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $139.04. 1,236,764 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,058,848. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $172.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.10. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.45, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

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 (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 business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a positive change 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 currently 29.30%.

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.