Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC decreased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 27.8%, holding 74,544 shares worth approximately $11.8 million at the end of the 1st quarter.
• Several other institutional investors also bought stakes in Williams-Sonoma, indicating a strong interest in the specialty retailer, with hedge funds owning 99.29% of the stock.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%, highlighting its commitment to returning value to shareholders.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 27.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 74,544 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 28,667 shares during the period. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $11,785,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Element Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,609,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $2,717,000. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 5,411 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $855,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $158,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company'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 owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have issued reports on WSM. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Zelman & Associates began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.18.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $203.04 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.99, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $176.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.00. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

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.

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