SG Americas Securities LLC Purchases 1,590 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 125.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,853 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $58,213,000. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $223,833,000 after buying an additional 192,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $107,409,000 after buying an additional 161,000 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 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 $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $150.90 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.74. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.27 and its 200 day moving average is $146.38. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.56 and a 1 year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.01%.

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.