IFM Investors Pty Ltd Buys Shares of 11,774 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

IFM Investors Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 11,774 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,739,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. AE Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $275,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 61.2% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 627 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 238 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $153,000. BTC Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $200,000. Finally, GHP Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,954 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,285,000 after acquiring an additional 385 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $282.16. The stock had a trading volume of 484,459 shares, compared to its average volume of 810,698. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.13 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.70. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $275.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $217.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its 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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.50 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $315.00 to $300.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, March 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.06.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.