UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $198.35 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lessened its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,071,121 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 34,215 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned approximately 0.87% of Williams-Sonoma worth $198,350,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $533,000. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 841 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $156,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,516 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,021,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the period. Atomi Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.2% during the fourth quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,540 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 104 shares during the period. Finally, Simon Quick Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175 over the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Wedbush cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.1%

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $0.17 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $167.00. The stock had a trading volume of 510,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,032,477. The stock has a market cap of $20.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74, a P/E/G 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $156.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $176.98.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

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.