Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,985 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 74 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,420,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $170.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $170.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday. UBS Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $176.75.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total value of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 8,000 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 16,505 shares in the company, valued at $2,501,002.65. This trade represents a 32.65% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock worth $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $160.30 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $157.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.24. The stock has a market cap of $19.72 billion, a PE ratio of 18.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $125.33 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.76 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 29.90%.

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.