1834 Investment Advisors Co. Has $1.36 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• 1834 Investment Advisors Co. reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 35.8%, selling 4,806 shares, leaving them with 8,617 shares worth $1.36 million.
• Williams-Sonoma declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with the payment date set for August 22nd, which represents an annual yield of 1.3%.
• Despite recent insider sell-offs, where executives sold a total of 68,000 shares valued at approximately $11.3 million, the majority of the stock (99.29%) is still owned by institutional investors.

1834 Investment Advisors Co. lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 35.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,617 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 4,806 shares during the quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.'s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Deutsche Bank AG increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 509,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $80,500,000 after buying an additional 129,010 shares during the period. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $234,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $170,267,000 after purchasing an additional 254,550 shares in the last quarter. ASR Vermogensbeheer N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at $1,495,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.8% in the 1st quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 1,447 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM traded up $0.08 on Friday, hitting $199.68. 1,075,631 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,232,173. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The company's 50-day moving average price is $171.39 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.57.

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, beating 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%. Williams-Sonoma's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSM. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price 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, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $178.41.

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.