Handelsbanken Fonder AB Decreases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 57.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 31,420 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 43,000 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,968,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after buying an additional 386,500 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $119,516,000 after buying an additional 24,741 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position 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 buying an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $628,440.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,388 shares in the company, valued at $6,031,138.68. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 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 113,227 shares of company stock worth $18,520,913 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Wedbush reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $220.00 to $215.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research 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 given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded down $0.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $153.93. 2,159,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,001,726. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.93 billion, a PE ratio of 18.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $156.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.68. 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 earnings results 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 company 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 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.90%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.