Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Avantax Advisory Services Inc.

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,765 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,389 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 645,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $119,516,000 after purchasing an additional 24,741 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth $87,148,000. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 380,160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $70,398,000 after purchasing an additional 27,176 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.3% in the first quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 358,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,638,000 after buying an additional 18,066 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.33, for a total transaction of $4,929,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 996,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $163,825,013.91. This represents a 2.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total transaction of $675,840.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This trade represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSM. KeyCorp raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $181.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. UBS Group cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, June 17th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $182.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $178.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $200.95 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $125.33 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $169.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.47. The company has a market cap of $24.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.76 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.35% and a return on equity of 52.79%. The company had revenue of $1.73 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.48 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 18th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.90%.

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.