Saxon Interests Inc. Boosts Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Saxon Interests Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 99.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,546 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares during the period. Saxon Interests Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

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

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM traded down $2.66 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $146.87. 126,812 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,940,909. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.56 and a 1 year high of $174.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $141.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.77. The stock has a market cap of $18.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.74.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.17.

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.