Arjuna Capital Acquires New Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 12,846 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,031,000.

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

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of WSM stock traded down $1.53 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $174.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 837,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,968,217. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $163.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.84. The company has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.45. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 value of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,915 shares of company stock worth $6,990,946. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Zelman & Associates began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.75.

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.