Alamar Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Alamar Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 6,325 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,153,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after acquiring an additional 147,780 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,664,580 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $485,833,000 after acquiring an additional 224,128 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $342,797,000 after acquiring an additional 130,940 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $316,920,000. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,661,365 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $296,703,000 after purchasing an additional 86,807 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Argus set a $230.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 29th. KeyCorp increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Barclays set a $190.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price target for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a report on Monday, April 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.12.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $222.35 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.51 and a twelve month high of $244.65. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $213.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $202.24.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 34.04%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. This represents a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.