Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 408.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 14,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 11,895 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,354,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $119,516,000 after buying an additional 24,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,148,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.75.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 50,915 shares of company stock valued at $8,203,186. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $173.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 746,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,975,351. The company has a market capitalization of $21.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a fifty day moving average of $161.66 and a 200 day moving average of $175.51. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

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.