7,725 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Bought by CCM Investment Group LLC

Key Points

• CCM Investment Group LLC has acquired 7,725 shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. valued at approximately $1.23 million in its first quarter SEC filing.
• The company's recent earnings report showed an earnings per share of $1.85, exceeding expectations and indicating a 4.2% revenue increase from the previous year.
• Williams-Sonoma declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 29.90%.

CCM Investment Group LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 7,725 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,228,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the chief financial officer 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered 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. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.6%

WSM traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.23. 2,179,707 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,239,694. The company has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $174.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.43.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.