Level Four Advisory Services LLC Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Level Four Advisory Services LLC reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 5.2% in the first quarter, now owning 33,531 shares valued at approximately $5.3 million.
• Williams-Sonoma reported $1.85 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analyst estimates of $1.76, with a revenue increase of 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 29.90%.

Level Four Advisory Services LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,531 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,836 shares during the quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,079,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Hemington Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.3% in the 1st quarter. Hemington Wealth Management now owns 482 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $757,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $231,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,159 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $499,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $199.2320 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $178.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.02.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $182.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. UBS Group dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.18.

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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