Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Aberdeen Group plc

Key Points

• Aberdeen Group plc significantly reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 90.6%, selling 300,007 shares during the first quarter, which brought its total holdings down to 31,000 shares worth approximately $4.87 million.
• Several large investors, including Vanguard Group and Charles Schwab Investment Management, increased their stakes in Williams-Sonoma, reflecting ongoing institutional interest in the company.
• Analysts have mixed views on Williams-Sonoma, with ratings ranging from "Strong Buy" to "Underperform," and an average price target of $180.18 per share.

Aberdeen Group plc trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 90.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 31,000 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after selling 300,007 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,867,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 15,630,310 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $2,471,152,000 after purchasing an additional 2,797,562 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $352,283,000 after buying an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 31.0% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,076,959 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $170,267,000 after acquiring an additional 254,550 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $119,516,000 after acquiring an additional 24,741 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $85,075,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. 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. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They issued an "underperform" rating for the company. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $181.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $180.18.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 34,388 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $199.2320 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $178.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.02. The firm has a market cap of $24.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.48 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 29.90%.

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.

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