Sheets Smith Wealth Management Has $2.45 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sheets Smith Wealth Management grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 68.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,800 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 6,400 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,448,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 245.5% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 190 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 value 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s 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 approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $129.80 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $141.48 and its 200 day moving average is $144.92. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.92 and a 12-month high of $174.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.59, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid 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 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.