Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Arizona State Retirement System

Arizona State Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.0% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 35,599 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,097 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,628,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 6.7% during the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,884 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $930,000 after purchasing an additional 368 shares during the period. Robeco Schweiz AG lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 15.7% during the first quarter. Robeco Schweiz AG now owns 1,416 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares during the period. Genus Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 195.0% during the first quarter. Genus Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 3,285 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.4% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 40,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,340,000 after purchasing an additional 3,460 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 44.8% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 45,217 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,149,000 after purchasing an additional 13,989 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.4%

WSM stock opened at $170.61 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.45. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $164.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $174.64. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.48 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Zelman & Associates started coverage on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 15th. They set an “underperform” rating for the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $181.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Insider Activity

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

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.