Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.

Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 84.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 52,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,015 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises 2.8% of Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest position. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $8,110,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $40,060,000. Tobam purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $138,000. Choreo LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth $273,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $61,000. Finally, Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.83.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

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

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $132.20 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.70 billion, a PE ratio of 15.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.92 and a 52-week high of $174.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.64 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.21.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.