Seascape Capital Management Sells 10,166 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Seascape Capital Management trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 23.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,912 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 10,166 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 1.9% of Seascape Capital Management's portfolio, making the stock its 12th biggest position. Seascape Capital Management's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,361,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $290,121,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 386,500 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 262,710 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,389 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WSM traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $173.06. The stock had a trading volume of 746,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,979,451. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $175.34. The firm has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.45.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.75.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Over the last three months, insiders sold 50,915 shares of company stock worth $8,203,186. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.