Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $15.75 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 425.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 78,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 63,200 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $15,751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 53.2% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 404,782 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $62,903,000 after purchasing an additional 140,551 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 638.3% during the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 142,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $22,129,000 after acquiring an additional 123,114 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 386,861 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $60,118,000 after acquiring an additional 109,533 shares during the period. Alps Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,785.4% during the 3rd quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 49,699 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $7,723,000 after acquiring an additional 47,063 shares during the period. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 396.6% during the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 54,128 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,411,000 after acquiring an additional 43,228 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $285.02 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $109.44 and a one year high of $319.78. The company has a 50 day moving average of $271.65 and a 200-day moving average of $215.93. The stock has a market cap of $18.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 1.69.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 31.02%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were 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 owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total transaction of $5,490,713.04. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 41,145 shares of company stock worth $12,182,219. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $260.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $155.00 to $270.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.