Bank of Stockton Sells 937 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bank of Stockton decreased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 6.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 14,790 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 937 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 0.7% of Bank of Stockton’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,338,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mariner LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 11,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,079,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Bailard Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $758,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,291,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Zelman & Associates initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $158.90 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $158.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.51. The company has a market cap of $19.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.00, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.90%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.11, for a total transaction of $628,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 38,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,031,138.68. This trade represents a 9.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 46,915 shares of company stock worth $7,527,346 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.