Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Purchases 5,475 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,308 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,475 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned about 0.10% of Williams-Sonoma worth $21,723,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $643,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $158.05 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $193.04 and a 200 day moving average of $173.97.

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 the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business’s revenue was up 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.44 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.30%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,720 shares of company stock worth $20,616,369 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $230.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $177.93.

Williams-Sonoma 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.