Principal Financial Group Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 38.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 625,883 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 393,251 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.51% of Williams-Sonoma worth $98,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% during the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $169.10. The company had a trading volume of 789,647 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,971,167. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $125.33 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.42 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.14. The company has a market cap of $20.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.45.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 7th. UBS Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,915 shares of company stock valued at $8,203,186. 1.10% of the stock is 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.