Janus Henderson Group PLC Grows Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 1.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 327,421 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,172 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned about 0.27% of Williams-Sonoma worth $60,633,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $643,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Bailard Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $477,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WSM. Zelman & Associates began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. UBS Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.4%

NYSE WSM traded up $2.35 on Friday, reaching $174.02. 1,393,991 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,058,111. The business's fifty day moving average price is $156.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. 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 quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost 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%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.