Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Vest Financial LLC

Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 149.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 191,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,376 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned about 0.15% of Williams-Sonoma worth $29,610,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,613,000 after acquiring an additional 43,607 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,833,000 after acquiring an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $107,409,000 after acquiring an additional 161,000 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $2.20 during trading on Friday, reaching $144.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,005,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,348,163. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $142.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $146.20. The stock has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.56 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was 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. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents 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 currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

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.