Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund decreased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 16.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,976 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 19,998 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned 0.08% of Williams-Sonoma worth $16,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 46,915 shares of company stock worth $7,527,346 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded up $2.24 during 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 1,992,624. The company's fifty day moving average price is $159.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $176.31. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.75.

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.