Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Royce & Associates LP

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 21.0%, owning 20,492 shares valued at $3,240,000 after selling 5,436 shares in the first quarter.
• Despite some analysts downgrading the stock, the company received a mix of ratings with one "strong buy," ten "hold," and seven "buy" ratings, with an average target price of $178.41.
• Williams-Sonoma declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, reflecting a 1.45% dividend yield, with a payout ratio of 29.90%.

Royce & Associates LP trimmed its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 21.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,492 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 5,436 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,240,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded down $2.53 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $188.01. The stock had a trading volume of 251,951 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,965,264. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $166.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.71. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.25, a PEG ratio of 3.02 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, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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.