Candriam S.C.A. Trims Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Candriam S.C.A. has significantly reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 79.4%, now holding 11,005 shares worth $1.74 million after selling 42,440 shares in the first quarter.
• Multiple hedge funds have increased their positions in Williams-Sonoma, despite Candriam's divestment, with Hemington Wealth Management leading with a 15.3% increase.
• Analysts have varied views on the stock, with price targets ranging from $166 to $212, and a current consensus rating of "Hold" with a price target of $185.59.

Candriam S.C.A. decreased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 79.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,005 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 42,440 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,740,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Hemington Wealth Management increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% in the first quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. TFB Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.5% in the first quarter. TFB Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $203,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% in the first quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,159 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $182.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $185.59.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. 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 that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, 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 a total of 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $203.3670 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.67. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

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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