Exchange Traded Concepts LLC Buys 2,698 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Exchange Traded Concepts LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 331.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,698 shares during the quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $544,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $144.06 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.74. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $146.26. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.56 and a 52 week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” 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 assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.83.

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.