Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Buys 2,945 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 26.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,197 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 2,945 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total value of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,505 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,915 shares of company stock worth $8,203,186. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Baird R W raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, April 7th. Wedbush lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1%

WSM traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $173.06. The company's stock had a trading volume of 746,331 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,975,351. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $162.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.34. The stock has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 1.45. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.