OmniStar Financial Group Inc. Acquires Shares of 4,793 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

OmniStar Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 4,793 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $744,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM traded down $0.37 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $142.02. The company had a trading volume of 251,864 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,918,655. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.56 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The business’s fifty day moving average is $142.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.35. The firm has a market cap of $18.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results 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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 28.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. 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 note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.