Romano Brothers AND Company Buys 16,580 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Romano Brothers AND Company grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 99.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 33,260 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,580 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after acquiring an additional 214,669 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $232,613,000 after buying an additional 43,607 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the 1st 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 during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,345,000 after acquiring an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position 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 valued at $107,409,000 after purchasing an additional 161,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $138.22 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $142.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.88. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.56 and a 1 year high of $174.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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 issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Evercore ISI decreased their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. 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.com, the company currently 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.