Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 11,940 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Bank of New York Mellon trimmed its Williams-Sonoma stake by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, selling 11,940 shares and ending with 852,234 shares valued at about $152.2 million.
• Insiders have been selling shares, including CFO Jeffrey Howie and CEO Laura Alber, with insider sales totaling 106,370 shares worth $19.7 million over the last 90 days.
• Williams-Sonoma beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $1.93 versus $1.80 expected and revenue of $1.81 billion, while also raising its quarterly dividend to $0.76 per share.

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 852,234 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 11,940 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.71% of Williams-Sonoma worth $152,200,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,199,961,000 after acquiring an additional 147,780 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the third quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $443,566,000 after purchasing an additional 532,995 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $316,920,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $254,778,000. Finally, UBS Group AG boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 31.6% during the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,094,336 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $213,888,000 after buying an additional 263,027 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 32,684 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.64, for a total transaction of $5,904,037.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,166,688.32. This represents a 48.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $183.04, for a total value of $3,660,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 786,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $143,967,732.48. This trade represents a 2.48% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 106,370 shares of company stock worth $19,720,823. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $205.03 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.20 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00. The firm has a market cap of $24.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.96, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $188.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 13.81% and a return on equity of 53.29%. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.80 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.85 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 17th were issued a $0.76 dividend. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.66. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.56%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.

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