Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 194.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,851 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 8,492 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund now owns 3,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $506,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. TIAA Trust National Association increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.2% in the 1st quarter. TIAA Trust National Association now owns 1,793 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $283,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 27.6% in the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 2,926 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 632 shares during the period. Hartford Investment Management Co. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $1,187,000. Finally, EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $766,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM traded up $0.08 during trading on Friday, reaching $199.68. 1,075,631 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,946,546. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $171.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.57. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.47. 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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.90%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.