Credit Agricole S A Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Credit Agricole S A increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 180.3% during the 1st quarter, holding $7.21 million worth of shares by the end of the quarter.
• The company reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.85, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.76, with revenue of $1.73 billion.
• A quarterly dividend of $0.66 has been declared, with a yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 29.90%.

Credit Agricole S A lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 180.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 45,572 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 29,311 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,205,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WSM. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday. 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $189.65.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.5%

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $5.1850 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $198.2350. 1,646,262 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,908,740. The business's fifty day moving average is $180.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.40. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $24.38 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.