Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,607 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 3,009 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Denali Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 38.8% in the third quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 322 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth approximately $51,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSM. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $4.80 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $285.02. 674,882 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,024,292. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $109.44 and a 12 month high of $319.78. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $271.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.93. The company has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.50 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

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.