Schroder Investment Management Group Has $34.76 Million Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 82.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 186,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 84,119 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $34,758,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $158.80 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $19.61 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $192.02 and a 200-day moving average of $174.07.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. The business had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders have sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $177.60.

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.