Czech National Bank Purchases New Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Czech National Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 28,274 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $4,470,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Tobam acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective 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. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price objective 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. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $2.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $157.93. 1,849,377 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,013,390. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $155.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $177.96. The stock has a market cap of $19.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.