Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is Hook Mill Capital Partners LP’s 2nd Largest Position

Hook Mill Capital Partners LP increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 105.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 166,434 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,426 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma makes up approximately 8.8% of Hook Mill Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest position. Hook Mill Capital Partners LP owned about 0.25% of Williams-Sonoma worth $20,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 18.3% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,539,856 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $176,960,000 after buying an additional 238,064 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 235.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,384,403 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $168,426,000 after buying an additional 971,370 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 941,826 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,572,000 after buying an additional 24,280 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 0.9% in the first quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 891,205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,424,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 35.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 815,713 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $93,742,000 after buying an additional 213,398 shares in the last quarter. 99.76% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total transaction of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,630,201.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,238 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,630,201.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $131.64, for a total value of $201,804.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,113.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Barclays boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.94.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WSM traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $143.65. The company had a trading volume of 999,343 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,270,760. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.22 and a fifty-two week high of $154.83. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $134.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $125.13. The stock has a market cap of $9.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 1.61.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.41. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.96 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 64.43% and a net margin of 11.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.87 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 21st were issued a dividend of $0.90 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 20th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.51%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 24.88%.

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.