Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 20.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 70,407 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 11,727 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. owned 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $11,131,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the fourth 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 during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,148,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSM. 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. UBS Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One research analyst has 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $164.17 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.48. The business has a fifty day moving average of $159.63 and a 200 day moving average of $175.95. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $120.00 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 46,915 shares of company stock worth $7,527,346. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.