Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Sells 8,770 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. decreased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 30.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,185 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 8,770 shares during the period. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,191,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 12.9% in the 1st quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 83,553 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $13,210,000 after purchasing an additional 9,533 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $426,000. Choreo LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 3,755 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $594,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 3,156 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $499,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,583 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,199,000 after purchasing an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.7%

WSM stock traded up $4.87 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $183.48. 100,583 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,952,810. The firm's 50 day moving average is $164.79 and its 200 day moving average is $174.12. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.45.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Zelman & Associates started coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,906,700 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.