Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Townsquare Capital LLC

Key Points

• Townsquare Capital LLC has reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 55.3%, owning 14,946 shares valued at approximately $2.36 million after selling 18,458 shares.
• Williams-Sonoma's latest earnings report showed a beat on EPS estimates, with an EPS of $1.85 compared to expectations of $1.76, and a revenue of $1.73 billion, reflecting a 4.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company will pay a $0.66 quarterly dividend on August 22nd, representing an annualized dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of approximately 29.90%.

Townsquare Capital LLC decreased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 55.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,946 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 18,458 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,363,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Zelman & Associates started coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $212.00 price target (up from $182.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.18.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.1%

NYSE:WSM traded down $4.50 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $205.70. The stock had a trading volume of 1,340,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,294,441. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $175.09 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $173.38. The company has a market cap of $25.30 billion, a PE ratio of 23.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company'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 value of $5,045,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.