AdvisorShares Investments LLC Purchases Shares of 2,690 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 2,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $87,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was 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 owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 76,635 shares of company stock worth $12,609,055. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Wedbush cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $179.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $152.77 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50 day moving average of $164.61 and a 200-day moving average of $173.39. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released 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 analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.73%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.