Sigma Planning Corp Acquires 796 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 69.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 796 shares during the quarter. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $300,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 28.8% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,250,000 after purchasing an additional 3,798 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 665.5% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 35,113 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $11,149,000 after purchasing an additional 30,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 90,857 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $28,710,000 after purchasing an additional 7,626 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM 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. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.49 and a twelve month high of $174.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $141.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 27.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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, Wedbush lowered Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.47.

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.