XTX Topco Ltd Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 27,096 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,284,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 7.5% in the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 11,149 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,763,000 after acquiring an additional 780 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth about $2,613,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 107.7% in the first quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 5,491 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $868,000 after acquiring an additional 2,847 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3,485.5% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,725 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 2,649 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 39.4% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 15,317 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,422,000 after acquiring an additional 4,332 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.7%

WSM opened at $188.37 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $125.33 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $23.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $165.71 and its 200-day moving average price is $173.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $3.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, July 18th will be issued a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.40%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.90%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% 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 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 72,000 shares of company stock worth $11,906,700. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $181.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $178.41.

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.