Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by US Bancorp DE

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 2.4%, now holding approximately $9.88 million worth of shares.
• CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares valued at nearly $4.93 million, reducing her ownership to just under **1 million** shares.
• Williams-Sonoma recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 1.4%.

US Bancorp DE cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 2.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 62,520 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,510 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE owned 0.05% of Williams-Sonoma worth $9,884,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded down $2.83 on Wednesday, reaching $200.95. 1,187,751 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,215,904. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $169.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.76, 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, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side 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 issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm'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 sale, the chief executive officer 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 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 worth $11,279,580 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma 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.