UBS Group AG Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) by 265.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 240,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 174,702 shares during the quarter. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.36% of Williams-Sonoma worth $27,628,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alliance Wealth Advisors LLC UT purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $543,000. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 358,412 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,189,000 after buying an additional 25,400 shares during the last quarter. Glenview Trust Co increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 61.2% during the 4th quarter. Glenview Trust Co now owns 2,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 169.0% during the 4th quarter. Donoghue Forlines LLC now owns 8,456 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $972,000 after buying an additional 5,312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% during the 4th quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 6,510 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $748,000 after buying an additional 1,540 shares during the last quarter. 99.49% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $111.66 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.58 and a 12 month high of $176.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 6.82, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.61. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $118.56 and its 200 day simple moving average is $121.63.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 16th. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.41 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.45 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 80.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.42 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 20th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 21.99%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $114.00 to $108.00 in a report on Friday, March 17th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $151.00 to $143.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 17th. Loop Capital dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $205.00 to $185.00 in a report on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Guggenheim reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $127.47.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.