denkapparat Operations GmbH Makes New $227,000 Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

denkapparat Operations GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,228 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $227,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Kozak & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 112,720 shares of company stock valued at $20,616,369 over the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $158.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $193.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.24. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.30%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.