Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Position Boosted by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 14.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,712 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,170 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,280,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth 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 period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 563,058 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $104,267,000 after purchasing an additional 31,754 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $174.13 on Tuesday. The company's fifty day moving average is $156.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.98. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSM. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. Wedbush cut 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, UBS Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.81.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.78, for a total transaction of $627,120.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,590.64. This represents a 8.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.

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