Korea Investment CORP Sells 21,670 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Korea Investment CORP lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 21.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,813 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 21,670 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $14,595,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $556,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 43.1% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 7,075 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,310,000 after buying an additional 2,130 shares during the last quarter. PKS Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $842,000. Syverson Strege & Co raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Syverson Strege & Co now owns 2,448 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.4% during the fourth quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,257 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted 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 $220.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.93.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $3.08 on Friday, reaching $141.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,801,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,695. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $188.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

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.