Westpac Banking Corp Buys Shares of 1,536 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp purchased a new stake of 1,536 shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc., valued at approximately $243,000 during the first quarter.
• Williams-Sonoma reported an EPS of $1.85 for the latest quarter, surpassing expectations and showing a 4.2% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a $0.66 quarterly dividend, which represents an annualized yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 29.90%.

Westpac Banking Corp bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,536 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $243,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $210.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $174.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.43.

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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. KeyCorp raised Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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