Strs Ohio invests $1.25 million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. in the fourth quarter. (NYSE:WSM – Free Report), according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The company purchased 6,194 shares of the specialty retailer, worth approximately $1,249,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $220,000. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at $4,102,000. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.5% during the third quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC now owns 20,711 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 2,128 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $3,632,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. his position in Williams-Sonoma shares rose 1.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,456,161 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $226,287,000 after purchasing an additional 18,004 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the shares are currently held by institutional investors.

Insider activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15. The shares sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the CEO now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15. The shares sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the CEO now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 2,184 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares sold at an average price of $313.98, for a total value of $685,732.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the CEO now directly owns 48,364 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,185,328.72. The explanation of this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 41,145 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,182,219 during the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s shares.

Analysts set new price targets

WSM has been the subject of several reports from research analysts. Morgan Stanley upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equalweight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 15. 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 14. Loop Capital raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 15. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Wednesday, April 3. Four 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of ‘Hold’ and an average price target of $248.06.

Check out our latest analysis on WSM

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM shares opened at $280.13 on Tuesday. Williams Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.44 and a fifty-two week high of $319.78. The company has a market cap of $18.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a PEG ratio of 2.35, and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $270.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $215.02.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Free Report) posted its latest quarterly results on Wednesday, March 13. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analyst consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. In the same quarter of the previous year, the company earned earnings per share of $5.50. The company’s revenue fell 7.1% year over year. As a group, stock analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post earnings per share of 15.37 for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma increases dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24. Investors of record on Friday, April 19 will receive a dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18. This represents a dividend of $4.52 annually and a yield of 1.61%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio currently stands at 31.02%.

About Williams Sonoma

(Free report)

Williams-Sonoma, Inc operates as an omnichannel specialty retailer for various home products. It offers cooking, dining and entertainment products such as cookware, utensils, electrical, cutlery, table tops and bar, outdoor furniture, furnishings and a library of cookbooks under the Williams Sonoma Home brand, as well as home furnishings and decorative accessories under the Williams Sonoma Home brand. Lifestyle brand Williams Sonoma; and furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, tableware and decorative accessories under the Pottery Barn brand.

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