Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 215.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 328,579 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 224,397 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned 0.27% of Williams-Sonoma worth $60,846,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $258,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,322,000. HB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $533,000. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,119 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,008,000 after acquiring an additional 1,838 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total transaction of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,572,715.72. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.81.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $174.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The firm's 50-day moving average is $156.83 and its 200 day moving average is $175.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. 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 yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

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.

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.