Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Telos Capital Management Inc.

Telos Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 95.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 44,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 21,870 shares during the quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second 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 during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at approximately $58,213,000. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% during the first 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 during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $107,409,000 after acquiring an additional 161,000 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $139.72 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.56 and a 12 month high of $174.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $142.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.04. The stock has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly 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. 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.