Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Activest Wealth Management

Activest Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Activest Wealth Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Wedbush lowered Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of 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. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $142.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.3 %

Williams-Sonoma stock traded down $4.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $170.94. The stock had a trading volume of 86,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,954,451. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.60 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $142.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $89.87 and a 12 month high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.95 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

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.