91,400 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Acquired by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 91,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $16,925,000. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS owned approximately 0.07% of Williams-Sonoma at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley decreased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.0 %

WSM stock opened at $163.27 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $172.60. The firm has a market cap of $20.10 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company 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.