Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,987 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,638 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,226,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. MCF Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% during the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth about $51,000. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $53,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.7 %

WSM stock opened at $314.28 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $109.44 and a twelve month high of $322.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.72. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $300.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.64.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.39 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be given a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.53, for a total transaction of $6,370,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 555,550 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $176,959,341.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.53, for a total value of $6,370,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 555,550 shares in the company, valued at $176,959,341.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 61,145 shares of company stock worth $18,552,819 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $310.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.38.

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.