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

Moran Wealth Management LLC lessened its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 284,835 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 28,118 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises about 1.5% of Moran Wealth Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.23% of Williams-Sonoma worth $45,032,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during 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. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 85.1% during the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 2,671 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $495,000 after acquiring an additional 1,228 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 47.2% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 443 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,549,000. Finally, FourThought Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $293,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. KeyCorp raised 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. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of WSM traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $157.86. 1,150,053 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,126,483. The company has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.48. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $157.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $176.76. 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 results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. Research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,572,715.72. The trade was a 1.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% 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 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.