Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 36.3%, selling 57,316 shares, leaving it with a total of 100,639 shares valued at approximately $15.9 million.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Williams-Sonoma, including Renaissance Technologies LLC, which raised its stake by 64.1% during the fourth quarter.
• Williams-Sonoma reported better-than-expected earnings for its recent quarter, with an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.85, surpassing estimates and achieving a revenue of $1.73 billion.

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. decreased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 36.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 100,639 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 57,316 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. owned 0.08% of Williams-Sonoma worth $15,911,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Redwood Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,019,000 after purchasing an additional 9,266 shares during the period. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,435,000 after purchasing an additional 7,564 shares during the period. Finally, Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,751,000 after purchasing an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $199.53. 158,542 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,954,574. The company has a fifty day moving average of $168.43 and a 200 day moving average of $173.25. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $24.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.47.

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 the consensus estimate 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business 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 $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.