Systematic Financial Management LP Lowers Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 19.4%, selling 41,333 shares to hold 171,356 shares worth approximately $27.1 million.
• CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares at an average price of $164.33, which decreased her ownership by 2.92%, while CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares, reducing his ownership by 10.42%.
• Williams-Sonoma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, yielding 1.3%, with a payout ratio of 29.90% as of its last reporting period.

Systematic Financial Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 19.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,356 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 41,333 shares during the quarter. Systematic Financial Management LP owned about 0.14% of Williams-Sonoma worth $27,091,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC grew 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 buying an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.0% during the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,261,000 after buying an additional 619 shares in the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 317.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 6,933 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,284,000 after buying an additional 5,271 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.9% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 20,293 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,758,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 162,112 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,021,000 after buying an additional 5,151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.5%

NYSE WSM traded down $5.1850 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $198.2350. The company had a trading volume of 1,646,262 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,361,689. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $181.29 and a 200 day moving average of $172.34. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $182.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 14th. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $189.65.

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.