Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Invests $895,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 5,633 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $895,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 408.3% in the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,354,000 after purchasing an additional 11,895 shares in the last quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 45.6% during the first quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 133,412 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $21,092,000 after buying an additional 41,780 shares during the last quarter. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $355,000. Perpetual Ltd acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth approximately $243,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 20.0% in the first quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 70,407 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $11,131,000 after purchasing an additional 11,727 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was 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 represents a 2.92% 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 this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,915 shares of company stock worth $6,990,946 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $169.12 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's 50-day moving average is $162.74 and its 200-day moving average is $175.09.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.56%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 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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