Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Position Boosted by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 68.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,399 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the quarter. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $171.98 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.77. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.31 and a 12 month high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 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 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 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.41.

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.