Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Boosts Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 8.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 51,365 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 3,898 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $8,121,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 2,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $495,000 after buying an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 443 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 391.9% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 21,380 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,959,000 after buying an additional 17,034 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $58,616,000 after acquiring an additional 3,200 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Wedbush reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.75.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $628,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,031,138.68. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their position. 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 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $164.17 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a PE ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.47. The business's fifty day moving average is $159.63 and its 200 day moving average is $176.16.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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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