Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. reduced its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,100 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $33,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 36,312 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,690,666.52. This trade represents a 43.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.78, for a total transaction of $4,973,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,018,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $168,826,041.72. This trade represents a 2.86% 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. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $155.59 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $177.93. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $19.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th were given a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.90%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada set a $182.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $153.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $160.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, May 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average 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.