Ignite Planners LLC Grows Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Ignite Planners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 98.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares during the period. Ignite Planners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after acquiring an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,462,000 after acquiring an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $58,213,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,833,000 after acquiring an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $107,409,000 after acquiring an additional 161,000 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $13,563,526. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $149.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.81. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $71.56 and a one year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its 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. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors 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 1.52%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 28.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased 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. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.17.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.