Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Man Group plc

Man Group plc boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,982 shares during the period. Man Group plc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $16,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $55,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $175.94.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.4%

WSM stock opened at $174.02 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $156.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.39. The company has a market capitalization of $21.39 billion, a PE ratio of 20.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.30%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed 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 owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 80,635 shares of company stock worth $13,236,175 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.