Diversify Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Diversify Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 14.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 412 shares during the quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $508,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $40,060,000. Diversify Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at approximately $1,177,000. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at approximately $490,000. High Note Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Finally, Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.9% during the first quarter. Hunter Associates Investment Management LLC now owns 8,907 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,834,000 after buying an additional 945 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.3 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $134.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.92 and a 12 month high of $174.26. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.78 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $145.27.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders 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 1.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush lowered Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.