ING Groep NV Invests $2.49 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

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 acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 15,719 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,485,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,079,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,969 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,159 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

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

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE WSM traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $199.68. 1,075,631 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,232,173. The business's 50 day moving average price is $171.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.30. The company has a market capitalization of $24.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.