AQR Capital Management LLC Has $69.88 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

AQR Capital Management LLC reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 33.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 378,493 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 190,440 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned about 0.31% of Williams-Sonoma worth $69,877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $290,121,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in 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 in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $96,403,000 after acquiring an additional 337,564 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $4.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $160.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,485,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,058,892. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.01, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.76. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $161.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.43. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. The company's revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders 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 1.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were 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 trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total transaction of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,572,715.72. This trade represents a 1.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $179.06.

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.