Ethic Inc. Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. decreased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 34.2% in the first quarter, reducing its ownership to 4,840 shares valued at approximately $769,000.
• Institutional investors remain heavily invested in Williams-Sonoma, with 99.29% of the stock owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors, showcasing significant interest in the company.
• Williams-Sonoma recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting a 1.3% yield, with a payout ratio of 29.90%.

Ethic Inc. reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 34.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,840 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,513 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $214,000. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 61.6% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,305 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,353,000 after acquiring an additional 2,784 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Zelman & Associates began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $180.18.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $199.2320 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.47. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $178.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.02. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%.The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. Research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 quarter, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is owned by 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.

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