Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Lowers Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec trimmed its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 555,034 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 196,701 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned 0.45% of Williams-Sonoma worth $102,781,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,148,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the third 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 period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.1 %

WSM traded up $4.89 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $160.71. 1,485,434 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,058,892. The company's 50-day moving average is $161.19 and its 200 day moving average is $173.43. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a PE ratio of 19.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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. Over 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 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.