Linscomb Wealth Inc. Sells 8,177 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Linscomb Wealth Inc. reduced its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 6.9%, now owning 110,782 shares, which is about 0.9% of its investment portfolio.
• During the first quarter, several hedge funds increased their stakes in Williams-Sonoma, with Vanguard Group Inc. boosting its stake by 21.8%.
• Williams-Sonoma reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.85, exceeding analysts' estimates, along with a revenue of $1.73 billion which marks a 4.2% increase compared to the previous year.

Linscomb Wealth Inc. reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,782 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 8,177 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma makes up about 0.9% of Linscomb Wealth Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest holding. Linscomb Wealth Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $17,515,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSM. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $85,075,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,272.6% in the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 512,846 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $81,081,000 after buying an additional 475,484 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $87,148,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised 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 buying an additional 262,710 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.6%

WSM stock traded up $3.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $210.23. The stock had a trading volume of 2,179,707 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,938,678. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The company has a fifty day moving average of $173.13 and a 200 day moving average of $173.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.48 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $178.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 $162,617,782.86. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Insiders have sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock valued at $11,279,580 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.