Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Sells 5,273 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 63.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,001 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 5,273 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $547,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5,019.6% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 89,388 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,964,000 after acquiring an additional 87,642 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 972,810 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $174,473,000 after purchasing an additional 89,779 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 23.8% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 294,598 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $52,612,000 after purchasing an additional 56,578 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,173,000. Finally, Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC now owns 150,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,788,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $192.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Barclays set a $190.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $210.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America started coverage on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, June 12th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $250.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Argus set a $230.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.65.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $172.61, for a total value of $3,452,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 938,524 shares in the company, valued at approximately $161,998,627.64. The trade was a 2.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. This trade represents 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. Insiders have sold 51,634 shares of company stock worth $9,812,283 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $222.85 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.96, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $161.76 and a one year high of $244.65. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $200.77.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.17%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.