ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. has acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc., purchasing 9,459 shares valued at approximately $1.495 million during the first quarter.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed reviews on Williams-Sonoma, with a current consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging $178.41.
• The company reported strong quarterly earnings of $1.85 per share, exceeding estimates, with a revenue increase of 4.2% year-over-year.

ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. purchased 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 Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 9,459 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,495,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 30.8% during the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,447 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% during the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,471,152,000 after buying an additional 2,797,562 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $793,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of WSM traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $200.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,061,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,940,686. The company has a 50 day moving average of $172.22 and a two-hundred day moving average of $172.93. The firm has a market cap of $24.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 over the last three months. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. 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. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

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.