Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Cetera Investment Advisers

Key Points

• Cetera Investment Advisers increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 13.9% after acquiring an additional 1,846 shares, bringing their total holdings to 15,080 shares valued at approximately $2.38 million.
• Insider transactions include CEO Laura Alber selling 30,000 shares for nearly $4.93 million, and CFO Jeffrey Howie selling 4,000 shares valued at $675,840, reflecting decreases in their ownership stakes.
• Williams-Sonoma's stock has an average rating of "Hold" from analysts, with price targets ranging from $160 to $215, while it reported an EPS of $1.85, beating estimates for the last quarter.

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 13.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,080 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,846 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,384,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $199.68. 1,075,631 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,946,546. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $171.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $173.57. The company has a market capitalization of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.47.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.