EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. Makes New $766,000 Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. made a new investment of $766,000 in Williams-Sonoma, acquiring 4,844 shares of the specialty retailer's stock.
• Insider trading activity saw CEO Laura Alber and CFO Jeffrey Howie sell significant amounts of share, totaling 68,000 shares valued at approximately $11.3 million over the last 90 days.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized yield of 1.4% and a payout ratio of 29.90%.

EFG Asset Management Americas Corp. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 4,844 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $766,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $186.82 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $166.98 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.65. The company has a market capitalization of $22.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.45.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. 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 report on Monday, May 5th. 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

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.

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