Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. significantly increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, acquiring an additional 122,180 shares, bringing their total ownership to 217,644 shares, valued at approximately $34.41 million.
• Williams-Sonoma reported better-than-expected earnings per share of $1.85 for the last quarter, surpassing analyst estimates by $0.09, while revenue climbed to $1.73 billion, up 4.2% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, yielding about 1.3%, with the ex-dividend date set for July 18th.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 128.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 217,644 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 122,180 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.18% of Williams-Sonoma worth $34,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Costello Asset Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.6%

NYSE:WSM traded up $3.26 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.23. 2,179,707 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,938,646. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $173.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $173.17. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. Williams-Sonoma's revenue for the quarter 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 year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on WSM shares. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Gordon Haskett raised 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of 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 initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating for the company. One 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.41.

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.