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

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

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AE Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $275,000. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $153,000. Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted 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 worth $2,309,000 after purchasing an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $267,000. Finally, Denali Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of WSM traded up $4.19 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $286.35. 587,818 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,007,831. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $319.78. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $276.41 and its 200-day simple moving average is $219.39. The firm has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 1.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 13th. The specialty retailer reported $5.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.06 by $0.38. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 12.25% and a return on equity of 55.15%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $5.50 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 15.37 earnings per share 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 dividend of $1.13 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 18th. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.90. This represents a $4.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.02%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSM. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 15th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, April 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $154.00 to $263.00 in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, March 15th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $330.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $248.06.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $283.74, for a total transaction of $5,674,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,145 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $289.06, for a total transaction of $330,973.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 6,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,013,591.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 505,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,433,123.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 41,145 shares of company stock valued at $12,182,219. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.