Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 31.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 254,550 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.88% of Williams-Sonoma worth $170,267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,424,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $895,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,019,000 after purchasing an additional 9,266 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 10.6% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 17,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,751,000 after acquiring an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 26.2% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 14,197 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased 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. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. The trade was a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% 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 insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM traded up $3.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $210.23. 2,179,707 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,938,678. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $174.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $173.43. The stock has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.