Versant Capital Management Inc Grows Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 789.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,918 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,590 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $461,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. 111 Capital bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $557,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 54,745 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $10,138,000 after buying an additional 28,880 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,111,000. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH now owns 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $260,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Park Square Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $2.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $161.70. The company had a trading volume of 2,532,690 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,019,495. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $19.89 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The business's 50-day moving average is $156.05 and its 200 day moving average is $177.68.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.48 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were paid a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.78, for a total value of $627,120.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 42,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,645,590.64. This represents a 8.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. This represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 79,227 shares of company stock valued at $12,962,573. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.06.

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.