Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lessened its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 45.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,034 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $392,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% in 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 during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp upgraded 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.78, for a total value of $627,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 42,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,645,590.64. This represents a 8.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 46,915 shares of company stock valued at $7,527,346. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.4%

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $2.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $164.17. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,786,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,992,593. The firm has a market cap of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $159.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $176.16. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

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.