Capital Research Global Investors Sells 741,516 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Capital Research Global Investors lowered its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 44.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 925,762 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 741,516 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned about 0.75% of Williams-Sonoma worth $171,433,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,103 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $791,000 after buying an additional 2,576 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 140.0% in the third quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC now owns 660 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $102,000 after purchasing an additional 385 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $23,123,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 457.9% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 10,344 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,602,000 after purchasing an additional 8,490 shares during the period. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 137.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $679,000 after buying an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. 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. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, April 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock traded down $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $151.24. 1,391,800 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,059,697. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $165.82 and its 200-day moving average is $172.91. The company has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors 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 1.75%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total transaction of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,572,715.72. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,635 shares of company stock worth $12,609,055. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

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.