Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Sells 339,902 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 61.2%, selling 339,902 shares and owning approximately 215,132 shares worth $34 million at quarter-end.
• Several large investors, including Heck Capital Advisors and SOA Wealth Advisors, have recently initiated positions in Williams-Sonoma, indicating continued interest in the stock.
• As of now, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Hold" from analysts, with varying price targets ranging from $166.00 to $230.00.

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec decreased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 61.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 215,132 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 339,902 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.17% of Williams-Sonoma worth $34,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $189.65.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $198.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.11 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $172.52. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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.

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