Systematic Financial Management LP Purchases 10,393 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Systematic Financial Management LP increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 212,689 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 10,393 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma makes up 1.0% of Systematic Financial Management LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Systematic Financial Management LP owned approximately 0.17% of Williams-Sonoma worth $39,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,424,000. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,435,000 after acquiring an additional 7,564 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $20,251,000 after acquiring an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $58,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $723,000 after acquiring an additional 2,222 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $131.00 to $166.00 in a report on Monday. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This represents 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 worth $13,236,175. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $1.92 on Tuesday, hitting $172.36. The stock had a trading volume of 2,096,380 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,053,972. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $156.83 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.98. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $21.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for 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 company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

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.