GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 16,087.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 262,710 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned about 0.21% of Williams-Sonoma worth $41,793,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Tobam acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $55,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating 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 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.2%

WSM traded up $0.30 during trading on Friday, hitting $158.28. 772,171 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,008,099. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The stock's fifty day moving average is $155.87 and its 200 day moving average is $178.13. The firm has a market cap of $19.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. The company's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,572,715.72. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.