AdvisorShares Investments LLC Invests $498,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

AdvisorShares Investments LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,690 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $87,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in 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 purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $4.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $160.71. 1,485,434 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,059,491. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $19.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $161.19 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.27.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective 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, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.06.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.78, for a total value of $627,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,388 shares in the company, valued at $6,645,590.64. This represents a 8.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.