Empowered Funds LLC Grows Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 9.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 44,195 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,978 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $8,058,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aristotle Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% in the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,031,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009,032 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 6,139,477 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,199,961,000 after purchasing an additional 147,780 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,664,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,833,000 after buying an additional 224,128 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,919,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $342,797,000 after buying an additional 130,940 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $316,920,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $228.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.63, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $221.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.96. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.51 and a 1 year high of $244.65.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.81 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.85 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.38 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors 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 is 34.04%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 923,524 shares in the company, valued at $184,704,800. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 36,634 shares of company stock worth $6,812,283 in the last three months. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSM. KeyCorp upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $208.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $190.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $225.00 price objective (up from $220.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.47.

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.