First Western Trust Bank Acquires 1,018 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

First Western Trust Bank increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 141.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the quarter. First Western Trust Bank’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $270,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $130.65 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.49 and a 1 year high of $174.26.

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, topping 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of a number of research 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 report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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 report on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.