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

Cullinan Associates Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 89.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after buying an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $41,793,000 after acquiring an additional 262,710 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $1.02 on Wednesday, hitting $158.90. 1,409,938 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,990,403. The company has a fifty day moving average of $158.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.63. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total transaction of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $6,572,715.72. This trade represents a 1.93% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note 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 on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

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.