Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by GSA Capital Partners LLP

Key Points

• GSA Capital Partners LLP has significantly increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. by 107.7%, owning 5,491 shares valued at approximately $868,000.
• Williams-Sonoma recently reported earnings of $1.85 per share, surpassing expectations, with quarterly revenue reaching $1.73 billion, a 4.2% year-over-year increase.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.4%, scheduled for payment on August 22nd.

GSA Capital Partners LLP increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 107.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,491 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 2,847 shares during the quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $35,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total value of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Baird R W upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 7.0%

NYSE WSM traded up $13.12 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $200.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,712,580 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,184,892. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $167.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.26. 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 $24.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. 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 presently 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.