SG Americas Securities LLC Boosts Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 865.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,557 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 5,878 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,037,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Regatta Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Regatta Capital Group LLC now owns 20,504 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,242,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 63.3% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,782 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $601,000 after purchasing an additional 1,466 shares in the last quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 4,789 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, Wesbanco Bank Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 24.5% during the 1st quarter. Wesbanco Bank Inc. now owns 2,540 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company dropped 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 report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price 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. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Baird R W upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 90 days, insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $3.37 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $160.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,984,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,129,738. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $157.17 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.48. The stock has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The company 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid 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 1.65%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.