Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 60.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,527 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 16,016 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,875,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $403,000. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Paragon Capital Management Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,473 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,162,000 after buying an additional 1,223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Retireful LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,564,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $2.08 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $170.44. 592,149 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,048,313. The company has a market cap of $20.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $156.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.95. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.81.

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.