Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Holdings Lifted by IFM Investors Pty Ltd

IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 6.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,595 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,532 shares during the period. IFM Investors Pty Ltd's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Mariner LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,079,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $477,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. First Bank & Trust now owns 1,463 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $231,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,969 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,291,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.5%

Shares of WSM traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $168.38. The company had a trading volume of 221,103 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,070,851. The company's 50 day moving average price is $162.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.14. The stock has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.45. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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 transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 50,915 shares of company stock valued at $8,203,186 in the last quarter. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. 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. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $176.75.

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.