Deutsche Bank AG Acquires 27,176 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 380,160 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 27,176 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.31% of Williams-Sonoma worth $70,398,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.0% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 563,058 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $104,267,000 after purchasing an additional 31,754 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total transaction of $129,646.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,572,715.72. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 80,635 shares of company stock valued at $13,236,175 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $2.35 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $174.02. 1,393,991 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,053,559. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $21.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.58, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $156.87 and a 200-day moving average of $174.81.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. 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 yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. 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 report on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on 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, Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $175.94.

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.