Transform Wealth LLC Buys 746 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Transform Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,205 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 746 shares during the quarter. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,404,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $33,000. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total value of $4,973,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $165.79, for a total transaction of $6,020,166.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. The trade was a 43.91% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 113,227 shares of company stock valued at $18,520,913. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $158.21 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.46 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47. The company’s 50-day moving average is $156.07 and its 200-day moving average is $178.09. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.48 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.67%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Barclays set a $166.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $177.06.

Williams-Sonoma 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.