Fox Run Management L.L.C. Makes New $2.72 Million Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Fox Run Management L.L.C. acquired 17,188 shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. valued at approximately $2.7 million, making it the company's 11th largest position in their portfolio.
• Insider selling includes CEO Laura Alber selling 30,000 shares for over $5 million, reducing her stake by 3.01%, while CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares, decreasing his position by 10.42%.
• Williams-Sonoma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, yielding approximately 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 29.90%.

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 17,188 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,717,000. Williams-Sonoma comprises about 0.4% of Fox Run Management L.L.C.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $212.00 price target (up from $182.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were 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 approximately $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. In the last three months, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM traded down $2.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $203.04. 1,036,462 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,294,163. The firm has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a PEG ratio of 3.28 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. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $176.00 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.