Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 2.2%, owning 323,463 shares valued at approximately $51.14 million as of the end of the latest reporting period.
• Williams-Sonoma reported a net revenue of $1.73 billion in its recent quarter, surpassing expectations, along with an earnings per share of $1.85.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting a 1.3% yield, which will be paid on August 22nd to shareholders of record.

National Pension Service boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 2.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 323,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 6,928 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.26% of Williams-Sonoma worth $51,140,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Redwood Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 9,266 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 128.0% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 217,644 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $34,410,000 after acquiring an additional 122,180 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.2%

Shares of WSM stock traded down $2.40 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $203.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,036,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,163. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.00 and a 200 day moving average of $173.00. The stock has a market cap of $24.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 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, beating the consensus estimate 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%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.18.

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.