Swiss National Bank Sells 9,600 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank sold 9,600 shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc., reducing its stake by 2.7% to 347,200 shares, worth approximately $54.89 million.
• Williams-Sonoma reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.85, exceeding analysts' expectations by $0.09, alongside a revenue of $1.73 billion, which represents a year-over-year increase of 4.2%.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for July 18, and it currently boasts a dividend yield of 1.3%.

Swiss National Bank trimmed its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 347,200 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 9,600 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.28% of Williams-Sonoma worth $54,892,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 18.3% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,306 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the period. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 470.7% during the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $780,000 after acquiring an additional 3,474 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $199.68 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $171.39 and a 200-day moving average of $173.03. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $24.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WSM? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.