CI Investments Inc. Acquires 6,148 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

CI Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 109.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,783 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,148 shares during the period. CI Investments Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,148,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,664,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $485,833,000 after buying an additional 224,128 shares in the last quarter. Oslo Pensjonsforsikring AS bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $110,000. Baader Bank Aktiengesellschaft bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $452,000. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.7% during the first quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 1,324 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,479,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $269,640,000 after acquiring an additional 20,886 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. This represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,704,800. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Bank of America initiated coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $190.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Argus set a $230.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.12.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.6%

WSM stock opened at $226.41 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $215.79 and a two-hundred day moving average of $202.63. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.51 and a 12 month high of $244.65. The company has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.35, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.49.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 34.04%.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

Williams‑Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi‑brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher‑end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.