Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Boosts Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 917,546 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,092 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $105,450,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 46,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,915,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 14,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,415.9% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $292,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.49% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $114.79 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $101.58 and a 1-year high of $176.89. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $118.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $121.52. The company has a market capitalization of $7.54 billion, a PE ratio of 7.01, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.61.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 16th. The specialty retailer reported $5.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.41 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 80.17% and a net margin of 13.00%. The firm had revenue of $2.45 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.60 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.42 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Investors of record on Friday, April 21st will be given a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.78. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.14%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 21.99%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research report on Friday, March 17th. Telsey Advisory Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $151.00 to $143.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $114.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Friday, March 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $126.76.

About Williams-Sonoma

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Williams-Sonoma, Inc engages in the retailing of home products. It operates through the following segments: Pottery Barn, West Elm, Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn Kids and Teen and Other. The Other segment includes net revenues from international franchise operations, Rejuvenation and Mark and Graham.