Achmea Investment Management B.V. Raises Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 45.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 133,412 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 41,780 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned 0.11% of Williams-Sonoma worth $21,092,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,572,715.72. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale 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 Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,915 shares of company stock worth $7,527,346 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zelman & Associates started coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.0%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $162.12 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $159.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.31. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.94 billion, a PE ratio of 18.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date 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.

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