Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stake Raised by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 21.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 12.71% of Williams-Sonoma worth $2,471,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,019,000 after buying an additional 9,266 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,197 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,245,000 after buying an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.0%

WSM stock opened at $199.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.39 and a 200-day moving average of $173.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $178.41.

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.