Nomura Holdings Inc. Buys 2,843 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,764 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,843 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,104,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on WSM. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price 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. Zelman & Associates began coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday. They issued an "underperform" rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.81.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WSM traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $174.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,532,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,012. The firm has a market cap of $21.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $156.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.68.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.44 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business'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 directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.