Vinva Investment Management Ltd Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Vinva Investment Management Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 13,756 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,566,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after buying an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,837,000 after buying an additional 21,200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.53.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $166.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.46 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The company has a fifty day moving average of $198.39 and a 200 day moving average of $171.88. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

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.