QRG Capital Management Inc. Increases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 47.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 12,870 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,119 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after acquiring an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,566,000 after acquiring an additional 532,995 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at $254,778,000. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $213,888,000 after acquiring an additional 263,027 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $194,947,000 after acquiring an additional 231,489 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total transaction of $3,660,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,166,688.32. The trade was a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 71,370 shares of company stock valued at $13,268,623 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.6%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $183.50 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $188.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $192.85. The company has a market cap of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $147.39 and a 52-week high of $222.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 18th. The specialty retailer reported $3.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.90 by $0.14. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.45% and a net margin of 13.94%.The business had revenue of $2.36 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.28 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.83%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 29th. TD Cowen reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $188.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 6th. Finally, Evercore set a $200.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $209.56.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.