Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Trims Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 6.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,601,420 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 105,280 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.30% of Williams-Sonoma worth $296,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $46,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.06.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, 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 transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value 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 $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 76,635 shares of company stock valued at $12,609,055 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1 %

NYSE WSM traded down $0.16 on Friday, hitting $151.24. 1,391,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,059,697. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $165.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.91. The company has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $5.44 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal 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 paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

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.