Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Position Increased by Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 26.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 9,266 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,019,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Northern Trust Corp grew its position 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 valued at $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $290,121,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% in the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 24,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $91,779,000 after purchasing an additional 493,146 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Zelman & Associates started coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. UBS Group decreased 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 reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $164.17 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $159.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.16.

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, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 dividend yield of 1.61%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total value of $628,440.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 38,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,031,138.68. The trade was a 9.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,915 shares of company stock worth $7,527,346. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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