South Dakota Investment Council Sells 7,599 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

South Dakota Investment Council trimmed its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 31.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 16,761 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 7,599 shares during the quarter. South Dakota Investment Council's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,650,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after buying an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,676 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $496,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 22,229 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,116,000 after purchasing an additional 1,948 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 4,516 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $836,000 after purchasing an additional 255 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 72,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,906,700. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.9%

NYSE WSM traded up $6.67 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $178.87. 1,054,016 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,956,344. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $174.12. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $22.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.45.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company 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 $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

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.