Forum Financial Management LP Increases Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Forum Financial Management LP grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 82.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after acquiring an additional 214,669 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,613,000 after buying an additional 43,607 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,833,000 after buying an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 64.3% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 442,815 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $68,601,000 after buying an additional 173,223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated 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 lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This 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 Stock Performance

WSM opened at $135.21 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.92 and a 52-week high of $174.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.21.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

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.