B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management Cuts Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management decreased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 8.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 36,975 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,609 shares during the period. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,846,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $87,148,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $174.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.82, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.45. The company's 50-day moving average is $163.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $174.93. 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 posted its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,915 shares of company stock worth $6,990,946. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of 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. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of 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. Finally, 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. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma 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.

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