Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 76.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 49,911 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 21,664 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake 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 period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 386,500 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 24,741 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after acquiring an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.6%

WSM opened at $153.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $156.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.68.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 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.

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