Penserra Capital Management LLC Lowers Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Penserra Capital Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 30.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,430 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 4,213 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,490,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,676 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $496,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $39,768,000. Callan Family Office LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $296,000. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $20,251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wedbush decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given 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 has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM traded up $4.55 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $173.76. The stock had a trading volume of 920,639 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,970,248. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.37 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 1.45. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $162.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.09.

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 (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 company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, 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 transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 42,915 shares of company stock valued at $6,990,946. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.