Berkeley Inc Sells 5,622 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Berkeley Inc trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 56.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,622 shares during the period. Berkeley Inc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $693,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $37,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 123.6% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 246 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total value of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at $163,825,013.91. The trade was a 2.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,915 shares of company stock worth $6,990,946 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $174.97 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $163.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $174.84. The company has a market cap of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.45. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $125.33 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 52.79% and a net margin of 14.35%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $3.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.90%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Barclays set a $166.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Zelman & Associates began coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “underperform” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $176.75.

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.