Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock Holdings Lifted by Pinebridge Investments L.P.

Pinebridge Investments L.P. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 136.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,387 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 41,237 shares during the quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $13,219,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 3.9% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 20,293 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,758,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 317.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,933 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,284,000 after purchasing an additional 5,271 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 61.6% in the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,305 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,784 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 10.0% in the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,261,000 after purchasing an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 74,462 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $13,789,000 after purchasing an additional 4,581 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 76,635 shares of company stock worth $12,609,055 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday. Wedbush reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $179.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $0.68 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $151.87. 238,566 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,053,668. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $164.61 and a 200-day moving average of $173.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $5.44 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.