Vanguard Group Inc. Has $2.47 Billion Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 21.8%, owning 15.6 million shares worth approximately $2.47 billion at the end of the last quarter.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, translating into an annual dividend yield of 1.3%.
• Williams-Sonoma reported earnings of $1.85 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, with a notable year-over-year revenue increase of 4.2%.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 21.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.71% of Williams-Sonoma worth $2,471,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 18.3% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,170 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $3,180,000 after acquiring an additional 2,660 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 31,228 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $5,442,000 after acquiring an additional 1,269 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 5,306 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $983,000 after acquiring an additional 2,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 470.7% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 4,212 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $780,000 after acquiring an additional 3,474 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.3%

Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $200.06. 1,061,727 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,940,686. The firm has a market cap of $24.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 1.47. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $172.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.93. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WSM. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Zelman & Associates began coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. They set an "underperform" rating on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $178.41.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company's stock, valued at $163,825,013.91. This trade represents a 2.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly 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. Insiders sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.