Renaissance Technologies LLC Grows Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 13.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 680,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 79,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned approximately 0.58% of Williams-Sonoma worth $124,076,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. Compound Planning Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,712 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $312,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.3% during the first quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,067 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $377,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Inceptionr LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $754,000. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 45.0% in the first quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 45,863 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,362,000 after acquiring an additional 14,235 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 21.7% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 83,409 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,208,000 after acquiring an additional 14,884 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.6%

WSM opened at $226.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $215.79 and its 200-day moving average is $202.63. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $165.51 and a 52-week high of $244.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.49.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total transaction of $3,452,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 938,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 36,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,812,283. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $218.00 in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $225.00 target price (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $213.12.

Williams-Sonoma 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.