Cullinan Associates Inc. Sells 22,700 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Cullinan Associates Inc. lowered its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 89.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 22,700 shares during the period. Cullinan Associates Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $427,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $158.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.99, a PEG ratio of 2.57 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $157.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $177.02.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% 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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.