National Bank of Canada FI Purchases 93,623 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• The National Bank of Canada FI has increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 662.2%, now owning 107,761 shares valued at approximately $17 million.
• Insider trading activity reported that CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares for over $5 million, reducing her ownership by 3.01%.
• Williams-Sonoma has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, yielding about 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 29.90%.

National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 662.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 107,761 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 93,623 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $17,036,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $35,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE WSM opened at $200.06 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $172.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $172.93. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 3.22 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. 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 presently 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WSM. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp raised shares of 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 began coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.