Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Decreases Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV trimmed its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 33.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,082 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,671 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 137.4% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $679,000 after buying an additional 2,536 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 247,243 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $36,119,000 after acquiring an additional 139,320 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $97,875,000 after purchasing an additional 172,409 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canandaigua National Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $257,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $0.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $160.32. 989,096 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,055,093. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The company's 50-day moving average is $157.92 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.79. The company has a market capitalization of $19.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released 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 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 revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $175.94.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.78, for a total transaction of $627,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,590.64. The trade was a 8.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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.