Simplicity Wealth LLC Makes New $381,000 Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Simplicity Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 1,199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $381,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. MCF Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 129.3% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 188 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 106 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 231 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 11.0 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $34.62 on Wednesday, hitting $279.76. The stock had a trading volume of 4,286,714 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,015,440. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $299.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $236.95. The stock has a market cap of $17.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.72. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $109.44 and a 52-week high of $348.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results 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. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.50 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 19th will be issued a $1.13 dividend. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $245.00 to $275.00 in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised Williams-Sonoma from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $155.00 to $270.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Wedbush increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $330.00 to $350.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $258.38.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total value of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,013,591.96. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 61,145 shares of company stock worth $18,552,819. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.