Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Buys 2,540 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 25.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,374 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,540 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $226,287,000 after acquiring an additional 18,004 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 970,737 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 23,918 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $152,843,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 416,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $84,090,000 after acquiring an additional 11,959 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,861 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $60,118,000 after acquiring an additional 109,533 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares in the company, valued at $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,145 shares of company stock worth $18,552,819 over the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSM. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $259.94.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $5.77 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $285.70. The company had a trading volume of 834,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,012,449. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $299.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $236.95. The stock has a market cap of $18.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $109.44 and a 1 year high of $348.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.50 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be paid a $1.13 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

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.