DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Has $241,000 Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main decreased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 87.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,304 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 8,818 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $241,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Finally, Tobam bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $55,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE:WSM traded up $2.35 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $174.02. 1,393,991 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,053,559. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $156.87 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.81.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during 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%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. Equities research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday. KeyCorp upgraded 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 research report on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price 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. Finally, Zelman & Associates began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.