Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Retirement Systems of Alabama reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 87.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 26,454 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 177,571 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,182,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $91,779,000 after buying an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after buying an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $41,793,000 after buying an additional 262,710 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of research reports. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was 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 now owns 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,915 shares of company stock worth $7,527,346 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.6%

NYSE:WSM opened at $158.90 on Thursday. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $158.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $176.51. The stock has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 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 analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.90%.

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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