Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 1,014,643 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,229 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $181,213,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 14,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,852,000 after buying an additional 4,961 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,473,000 after buying an additional 89,779 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 282,503 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $55,215,000 after buying an additional 80,044 shares during the period. Kerusso Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 89.1% in the 3rd quarter. Kerusso Capital Management LLC now owns 20,843 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,074,000 after buying an additional 9,820 shares during the period. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 18.2% in the 3rd quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 130,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,408,000 after buying an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Weiss Ratings raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore set a $200.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.56.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total value of $3,660,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,370 shares of company stock valued at $13,268,623. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.6%

NYSE WSM opened at $180.22 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.36, a PEG ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $147.39 and a twelve month high of $222.00. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $189.15 and a 200 day moving average of $192.87.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.28 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.83%.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.