Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 101,548 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 23.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 331,790 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 101,548 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned about 0.27% of Williams-Sonoma worth $52,456,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after acquiring an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after buying an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $41,793,000 after acquiring an additional 262,710 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of WSM traded up $3.37 on Thursday, reaching $160.30. The stock had a trading volume of 1,984,163 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,471. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $157.21 and a 200 day moving average of $177.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. KeyCorp raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

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.