Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Fulcrum Capital LLC

Fulcrum Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 11.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,010 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Fulcrum Capital LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $318,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $290,121,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 19,941.2% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 495,619 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $91,779,000 after acquiring an additional 493,146 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $87,148,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 989,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $183,273,000 after acquiring an additional 386,500 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 16,087.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 264,343 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $41,793,000 after acquiring an additional 262,710 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised Williams-Sonoma from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $170.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.7%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $161.70 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.88 billion, a PE ratio of 19.12, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $156.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $177.35.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.48 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. This is a positive change from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $151.53, for a total transaction of $1,212,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. The trade was a 32.65% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 79,227 shares of company stock worth $12,962,573 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.