Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. Has $36,000 Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 82.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 232 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $36,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 51.2% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 40,241 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,234,000 after purchasing an additional 19,151 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 28,078 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,350,000 after buying an additional 1,394 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 149.0% in the third quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 191,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $29,610,000 after buying an additional 114,376 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $137.54 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $142.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.83. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $71.56 and a one year high of $174.26. The stock has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during 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%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors 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 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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 decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI reduced their price target 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.83.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 completion of the transaction, 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 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.