CWA Asset Management Group LLC Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 15,630 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,421,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 144.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 2,583 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 52.0% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 182,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $57,949,000 after buying an additional 62,400 shares in the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at about $216,000. Finally, Abbrea Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $246,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.1 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $129.80 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.92 and a 12-month high of $174.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.48 and a 200-day moving average price of $144.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of 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. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. 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. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % 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.

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.