Norges Bank Invests $290.12 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 1,566,697 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $290,121,000. Norges Bank owned about 1.27% of Williams-Sonoma at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $158.75 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $193.93 and its 200-day moving average is $173.54.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $226.00 to $208.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $177.93.

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.