Sierra Summit Advisors LLC Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Sierra Summit Advisors LLC acquired 3,922 shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., valued at approximately $620,000, in the first quarter, as disclosed in a recent SEC filing.
• Williams-Sonoma reported earnings of $1.85 per share for the last quarter, exceeding expectations, and achieved a net margin of 14.35% with revenue growth of 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66, representing a 1.3% yield, with the ex-dividend date set for July 18th.

Sierra Summit Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 3,922 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $620,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $81,081,000 after buying an additional 475,484 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $87,148,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $41,793,000 after buying an additional 262,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $170,267,000 after buying an additional 254,550 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $180.18.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of WSM traded down $4.02 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $206.18. 659,198 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,930,095. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $174.14 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.43. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. 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 prior year, the business posted $3.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's 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 owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This trade 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 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.