Deutsche Bank AG Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 33.9% during the first quarter, now owning approximately $80.50 million worth of the retailer's stock.
• Williams-Sonoma recently declared a $0.66 quarterly dividend, providing a yield of 1.3%, with an ex-dividend date of July 18th.
• The company reported earnings of $1.85 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showcasing a 4.2% year-over-year revenue increase.

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 33.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 509,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 129,010 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned approximately 0.41% of Williams-Sonoma worth $80,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $1,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at about $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 9,266 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 26.2% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,197 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,245,000 after acquiring an additional 2,945 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $3.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $210.23. 2,179,707 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,938,678. The business has a fifty day moving average of $174.14 and a 200 day moving average of $173.43. The firm has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This trade represents 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.