Congress Asset Management Co. Sells 99,302 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Congress Asset Management Co. lessened its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 94.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,143 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 99,302 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $971,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $416,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 3.0% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 252,289 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $46,719,000 after purchasing an additional 7,443 shares in the last quarter. Tobam acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $157.79 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $155.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.33. The stock has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.67%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the 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 now owns 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. Company 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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