Albion Financial Group UT Has $1.37 Million Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Albion Financial Group UT cut its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 26.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,641 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,161 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $119,516,000 after acquiring an additional 24,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $87,148,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total transaction of $129,646.35. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $6,572,715.72. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 46,915 shares of company stock worth $7,527,346 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $164.17 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $120.00 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $159.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.48.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

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.

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