Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $2.39 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 193.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,095 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 9,948 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,387,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% in the first 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. UBS Group reduced their target price 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. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WSM traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $173.06. The stock had a trading volume of 746,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,975,351. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $161.66 and a 200 day moving average of $175.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.90%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders sold 50,915 shares of company stock valued at $8,203,186 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.