Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Key Points

• Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB significantly reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 51.3% in the first quarter, leaving it with approximately $41.42 million worth of shares.
• Several large investors, including Norges Bank and Pacer Advisors Inc., have increased their positions in Williams-Sonoma, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• Williams-Sonoma recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, contributing to an annualized dividend yield of 1.46%.

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 51.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 261,953 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 276,373 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.21% of Williams-Sonoma worth $41,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,079,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.5% in the first quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. First Bank & Trust grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the first quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,969 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Finally, Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.7%

WSM traded up $1.26 on Friday, hitting $181.80. 818,197 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,202,717. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $165.43 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.70. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $22.36 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.45.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders 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 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,906,700 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.