LPL Financial LLC Has $9.75 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.6%, bringing its total shares to 61,660, valued at approximately $9.75 million.
• Insiders, including CEO Laura Alber and CFO Jeffrey Howie, recently sold significant shares of the company, totaling 68,000 shares worth about $11.3 million over the last 90 days.
• Williams-Sonoma announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with a payout ratio of 29.90%, indicating a stable return to shareholders.

LPL Financial LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 4.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 61,660 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,688 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Williams-Sonoma worth $9,748,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,660 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,269 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,306 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $983,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 470.7% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $780,000 after purchasing an additional 3,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of WSM traded up $0.64 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $200.06. 1,061,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,940,686. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The business has a 50-day moving average of $171.39 and a 200 day moving average of $173.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced 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 net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. 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 currently 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WSM. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Barclays set a $166.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents 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 worth $11,279,580 over the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.