Virtue Capital Management LLC Grows Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Virtue Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 414 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 3,038 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after buying an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,160 shares of company stock valued at $11,590,952. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $186.75 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $146.69. The company has a market cap of $22.99 billion, a PE ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.81. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.63 and a 12-month high of $192.83.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wedbush boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

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.