Brighton Jones LLC Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 63.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,506 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,142 shares during the quarter. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $853,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,462,000 after buying an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,613,000 after buying an additional 43,607 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,833,000 after buying an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% during the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $107,409,000 after buying an additional 161,000 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $137.54 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $142.27 and a 200 day moving average of $145.83. The company has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.56 and a 1-year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI dropped 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. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

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.