PFG Investments LLC Acquires 306 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

PFG Investments LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 19.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,916 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 306 shares during the quarter. PFG Investments LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $608,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. AE Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $275,000. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $153,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 14,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Marta Benson sold 17,816 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $308.19, for a total value of $5,490,713.04. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 68,597 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,140,909.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total value of $330,973.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WSM. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $154.00 to $263.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $261.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 19th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.5 %

WSM traded up $4.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $286.35. 587,818 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,007,831. The company’s 50-day moving average is $276.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.39. The company has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $109.44 and a 12-month high of $319.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.06 by $0.38. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 55.15% and a net margin of 12.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.50 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Investors of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a dividend of $1.13 per share. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 31.02%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.