Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 8.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 21,958 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 1,677 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,472,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $628,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,031,138.68. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock worth $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Wedbush lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.1%

NYSE:WSM traded up $3.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $160.30. 1,984,163 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,000,471. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $157.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.36. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.