5,334 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Purchased by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 5,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Novare Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% during the 3rd quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 105.0% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 173,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,897,000 after buying an additional 88,936 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 86.5% during the third quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 11,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,793,000 after buying an additional 5,369 shares in the last quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Radnor Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,952,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $130.65 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $141.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.49 and a 12-month high of $174.26.

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. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share 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 $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related 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 owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, 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, 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 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 $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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.