Kentucky Retirement Systems Buys Shares of 8,322 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 8,322 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $1,316,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 2,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 47.2% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 443 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 142 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $1,549,000. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $293,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $157.86 on Wednesday. The stock's 50-day moving average is $158.24 and its 200-day moving average is $176.63. The company has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 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 quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,031,138.68. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 113,227 shares of company stock worth $18,520,913 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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