Pacer Advisors Inc. Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 369,808 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,388 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. owned about 0.31% of Williams-Sonoma worth $67,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 229.4% in the first quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of WSM stock opened at $228.89 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.51 and a twelve month high of $244.65. The stock has a market cap of $26.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 1.50. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $221.01 and a 200 day moving average of $203.94.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.85 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Evercore set a $200.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price target (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $215.47.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.