Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock Holdings Boosted by Eukles Asset Management

Eukles Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 14.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,324 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 1,532 shares during the period. Eukles Asset Management's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Redwood Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $1,424,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 26.4% during the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 44,398 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $7,019,000 after acquiring an additional 9,266 shares during the last quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Abacus FCF Advisors LLC now owns 23,950 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,435,000 after acquiring an additional 7,564 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $20,251,000 after purchasing an additional 5,337 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. KeyCorp upgraded 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. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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 note on Monday, May 5th. One 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $173.06 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $162.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.34. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $21.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 2.80 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, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The business had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 50,915 shares of company stock worth $8,203,186. Company 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.