Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. has reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 7.0%, now owning 19,180 shares, valued at approximately $3,032,000.
• Several institutional investors, including National Bank of Canada FI and Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management, significantly increased their holdings in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter.
• Williams-Sonoma recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.3%.

Stonebridge Capital Management Inc. cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 7.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 19,180 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,440 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises approximately 1.3% of Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Stonebridge Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cynosure Group LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 11.6% in the first quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 1,852 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $293,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 52,100 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $8,237,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 662.2% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 107,761 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $17,036,000 after acquiring an additional 93,623 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 128.0% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 217,644 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $34,410,000 after acquiring an additional 122,180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Arjuna Capital purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $2,031,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several research reports. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of WSM opened at $199.68 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.61, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a 50-day moving average of $171.39 and a two-hundred day moving average of $173.57. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.

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