Archer Investment Corp Sells 1,495 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Archer Investment Corp lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 64.6% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 820 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 1,495 shares during the period. Archer Investment Corp's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $130,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $290,121,000. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $183,273,000 after purchasing an additional 386,500 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $41,793,000 after purchasing an additional 262,710 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after purchasing an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $0.22 on Friday, hitting $170.42. 1,082,277 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,963,941. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $164.79 and a 200 day moving average price of $174.29. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $125.33 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $20.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.30, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.45.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The business's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company 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 dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 72,915 shares of company stock worth $12,036,346 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Evercore ISI reduced their target price on 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. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Zelman & Associates started coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Baird R W raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $176.75.

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.