Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.

TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 317.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,933 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,271 shares during the period. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,284,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% in the 4th 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 position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $20,251,000 after buying an additional 5,337 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $97,875,000 after buying an additional 172,409 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $58,616,000 after buying an additional 3,200 shares during the period. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $723,000 after buying an additional 2,222 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $1.16 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $152.24. 276,227 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,231,028. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $163.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $173.25. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.73%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,572,715.72. This represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 76,635 shares of company stock worth $12,609,055. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. 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 research report on Monday, April 7th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $179.06.

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.