Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,607 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,009 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 820.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 230 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,185,328.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 505,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. StockNews.com lowered Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of WSM opened at $280.13 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $270.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.02.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.50 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

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.