Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Makes New $5.65 Million Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management made a new investment of approximately $5.65 million in Williams-Sonoma, acquiring 35,723 shares in the first quarter.
• Williams-Sonoma reported earnings of $1.85 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2%.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66, which will be paid to shareholders on August 22nd, offering an annualized yield of 1.3%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 35,723 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $5,648,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after buying an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $119,516,000 after acquiring an additional 24,741 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $81,081,000 after buying an additional 475,484 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $87,148,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 7.0%

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $200.79 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $24.70 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $168.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.25.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. UBS Group dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $178.41.

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.

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