Plan Group Financial LLC Purchases New Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Plan Group Financial LLC has made a new investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc., acquiring 1,400 shares worth approximately $221,000 during the first quarter.
• Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 99.29% of Williams-Sonoma's stock, highlighting the heavy institutional interest in the company.
• Williams-Sonoma recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.66, which will yield an annualized rate of 1.3% based on current valuations.

Plan Group Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 1,400 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $221,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the period. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $1,536,000. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $7,579,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 314,935 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $58,320,000 after purchasing an additional 11,359 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $199.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,075,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,232,173. The business's 50 day moving average price is $171.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.57. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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 yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

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.