Ehrlich Financial Group Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Ehrlich Financial Group bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 1,396 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.17.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $149.55 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.56 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.81.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $13,563,526. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.