1834 Investment Advisors Co. Boosts Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

1834 Investment Advisors Co. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 15,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,386 shares during the period. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,413,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $134.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.92 and a 12-month high of $174.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.17.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The company 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 quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s 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 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 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. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.