Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a 61.5% increase in its position in Williams-Sonoma, owning approximately 0.11% of the company, valued at $21.15 million.
• Williams-Sonoma reported a net margin of 14.35% and earnings per share of $1.85 for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66, which will be paid on August 22nd, representing an annualized yield of 1.3%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 61.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 133,739 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 50,923 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of Williams-Sonoma worth $21,149,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after acquiring an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at $85,075,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 475,484 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $41,793,000 after acquiring an additional 262,710 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $170,267,000 after acquiring an additional 254,550 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.2%

NYSE WSM opened at $203.04 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a PE ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $176.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.00.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.48 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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 paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. UBS Group cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Zelman & Associates assumed coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $180.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 2.92% 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 ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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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