Graypoint LLC Increases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,791 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 50.3% in the first quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 1,166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $184,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.9% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,120 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 52.8% in the first quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 1,831 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 633 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 130.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 1,294 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $205,000 after acquiring an additional 733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 87.3% during the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $177,000 after buying an additional 521 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Robert W. Baird upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, April 7th. Finally, Wedbush lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.75.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $170.32 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $164.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $174.39. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.45.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.48 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS 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. Shareholders 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 1.55%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the 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 owned 34,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $162,617,782.86. The trade was a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 72,915 shares of company stock worth $12,036,346 over the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.