Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Dimensional Fund Advisors LP

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 6.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 1,601,420 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 105,280 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $296,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $87,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $183,273,000 after buying an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $139.04 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $172.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.39. The company 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) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during 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 business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was 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 owns 16,505 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, 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. In the last quarter, insiders sold 120,720 shares of company stock worth $21,828,609. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $178.93.

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.