Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Sittner & Nelson LLC

Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $31,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in 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 buying an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,139,000 after buying an additional 219,591 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after buying an additional 214,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $48,542,000 after acquiring an additional 213,035 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $133.88 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.99. The firm has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.92 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.