Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by JGP Wealth Management LLC

JGP Wealth Management LLC lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 35.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,273 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 3,378 shares during the period. JGP Wealth Management LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $91,779,000 after acquiring an additional 493,146 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $41,793,000 after purchasing an additional 262,710 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE WSM traded up $3.43 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $161.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,369,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,369. The firm has a market cap of $19.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $155.90 and a 200-day moving average of $178.20.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during 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 was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSM. UBS Group lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.06.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. The trade was a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,227 shares of company stock valued at $17,892,473 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.