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

Bank of New York Mellon Corp decreased its position 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. The institutional investor owned 932,346 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 189,395 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.75% of Williams-Sonoma worth $147,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. World Investment Advisors raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 53.5% in the 1st quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 2,296 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. von Borstel & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $53,000. Olde Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $98,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.3% during the 1st quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 358,242 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $56,638,000 after buying an additional 18,066 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was 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 directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,915 shares of company stock worth $6,990,946. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $4.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $173.76. The company's stock had a trading volume of 920,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,970,245. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $162.74 and a 200-day moving average price of $175.09.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.52%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 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.