Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Acquires 433 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 35.9% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $463,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gleason Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 8,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,848,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.6% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 12.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $201,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total value of $6,258,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,956 shares in the company, valued at $167,551,066.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total transaction of $6,258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,070,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,551,066.20. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,526. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $149.55 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.56 and a 52-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. The company has a market capitalization of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.38, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.52%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 28.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.17.

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.