1,992 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Bought by Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,992 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $315,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded down $0.89 during trading on Friday, hitting $153.93. 2,159,005 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,004,352. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $156.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.77. The firm has a market cap of $18.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.21, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders 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 1.72%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating on the stock. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares in the company, valued at $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In 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 corporate 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.