Ethic Inc. Buys 5,297 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Ethic Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 257.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,353 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,297 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,362,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 380,160 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $70,398,000 after purchasing an additional 27,176 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 8.3% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,234 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,451,000 after purchasing an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter. Bridgefront Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $589,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cary Street Partners Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $10,694,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Wedbush decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Zelman & Associates started coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $175.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $6,572,715.72. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $2.35 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $174.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,393,991 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,053,559. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $156.87 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.81.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share 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 company posted $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.