Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Boosts Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 11.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 281,085 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 28,796 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Williams-Sonoma worth $44,440,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during 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 last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $41,793,000 after purchasing an additional 262,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $0.12 during trading on Friday, reaching $173.06. The company had a trading volume of 746,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,451. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $162.09 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.34. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 50,915 shares of company stock valued at $8,203,186. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price 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. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.75.

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.