Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 16.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 932,346 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 189,395 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.75% of Williams-Sonoma worth $147,404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 42,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,990,946. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM traded up $3.58 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $177.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 300,665 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,056,731. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $21.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.45. The business's fifty day moving average is $163.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.08.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given 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 1.49%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. 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. Finally, Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.