Chartwell Investment Partners LLC Purchases 7,992 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Chartwell Investment Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 92.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,596 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,992 shares during the quarter. Chartwell Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,571,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Novare Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% in the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 105.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 173,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,897,000 after purchasing an additional 88,936 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 11,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,369 shares during the period. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 5,100 shares during the period. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 95.1% during the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,950,000 after buying an additional 21,870 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush cut Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.5 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $129.13 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.39 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.87. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $73.41 and a 12 month high of $174.26. The company has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.77%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.