15,719 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Purchased by ING Groep NV

Key Points

• ING Groep NV has acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by purchasing 15,719 shares valued at approximately $2.485 million.
• The company reported earnings per share (EPS) of $1.85 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.76, with a revenue of $1.73 billion.
• Williams-Sonoma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing a yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 29.90%.

ING Groep NV bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 15,719 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,485,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,266 shares during the period. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 7,564 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% during 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. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $199.68. 1,075,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,232,173. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.47. The company's fifty day moving average is $171.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

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.