Raymond James & Associates Grows Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 105.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 173,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 88,936 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.13% of Williams-Sonoma worth $26,897,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $419,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $137.54 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $142.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.83. The firm has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a PE ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.56 and a twelve month high of $174.26.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI decreased their price target on 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. Barclays decreased their price target on 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, Wedbush decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.83.

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.