Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Buys Shares of 3,545 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,545 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $560,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position 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. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value 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. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $157.86 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.47. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $158.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.63.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The business 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 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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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