Moran Wealth Management LLC Has $47.77 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Moran Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 91.8% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 308,330 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 147,569 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises 1.5% of Moran Wealth Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 6th biggest position. Moran Wealth Management LLC owned 0.24% of Williams-Sonoma worth $47,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,312,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.6% in the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after buying an additional 3,798 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $314,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $286,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $36.16 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $173.40. 3,228,314 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,937,841. The firm has a market cap of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.33. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.63 and a 52-week high of $175.80.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.84.

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.