Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Trims Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund trimmed its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,441 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,418 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Williams-Sonoma worth $15,943,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp now owns 147 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. MidFirst Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 229.4% in the 1st quarter. Millstone Evans Group LLC now owns 168 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DV Equities LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $228.61 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $209.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $201.05. The company has a market capitalization of $26.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $184,704,800. The trade was a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total transaction of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Weiss Ratings lowered Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.65.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.