Arkadios Wealth Advisors Makes New $309,000 Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, purchasing 1,954 shares valued at approximately $309,000 in the first quarter.
• CEO Laura Alber and CFO Jeffrey Howie sold a combined total of 34,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock recently, indicating a decrease in their positions by 3.01% and 10.42%, respectively.
• Several analysts have rated Williams-Sonoma with mixed opinions, resulting in a current consensus rating of "Hold" and a target price of $178.41.

Arkadios Wealth Advisors acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 1,954 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $1,536,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 314,935 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $58,320,000 after purchasing an additional 11,359 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,180,000 after buying an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,442,000 after buying an additional 1,269 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on WSM shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE WSM traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $199.68. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,075,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,946,546. The firm has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $171.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

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.