Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Purchased by Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt

Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1,450.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,500 shares during the period. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% in the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,964,000 after purchasing an additional 87,642 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $174,473,000 after acquiring an additional 89,779 shares during the period. Munich Reinsurance Co Stock Corp in Munich acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $4,605,000. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Caprock Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,750,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $207.99 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.20 and a 1 year high of $222.00. The company has a market capitalization of $24.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.51. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $187.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $192.38.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.33 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.56%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. TD Cowen reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $209.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 786,537 shares in the company, valued at $143,967,732.48. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total value of $5,904,037.76. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.