Teacher Retirement System of Texas Acquires 8,855 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 246,066 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,855 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.20% of Williams-Sonoma worth $45,567,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $165.29 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 $20.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $197.81 and a 200-day moving average of $171.83.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.34 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $5.44 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued 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 1.60%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.13.

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.