Berkeley Inc Sells 5,622 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Berkeley Inc reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 56.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,622 shares during the quarter. Berkeley Inc's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $693,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $4.21 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $170.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,006,295 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,964,371. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.45. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $163.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $174.75.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.48 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 42,915 shares of company stock worth $6,990,946 over the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.