Federated Hermes Inc. Sells 11,954 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Federated Hermes Inc. lessened its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 69.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,216 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 11,954 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $825,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mariner LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the fourth 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 period. Graypoint LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,969 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $199.53 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $170.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.64. The firm has a market cap of $24.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.60, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 1.47. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for 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%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their price objective 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. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.