OLD National Bancorp IN Decreases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

OLD National Bancorp IN lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 22,730 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 2,346 shares during the quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,594,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $157.79 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $155.85 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $178.33. The company has a market capitalization of $19.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.66, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. 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. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. 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. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, 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 transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. This represents a 2.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 915 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $141.69, for a total value of $129,646.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,572,715.72. This represents a 1.93% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 113,227 shares of company stock worth $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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