TFG Advisers LLC Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

TFG Advisers LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 105.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,885 shares during the quarter. TFG Advisers LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, October 11th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wedbush cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three 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 data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.2 %

WSM traded up $1.70 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $141.60. 109,581 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,912,349. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $142.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.94. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.56 and a 1-year high of $174.26. The company has a market cap of $17.89 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.74.

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 the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.