Vest Financial LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Vest Financial LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 149.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 191,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 114,376 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $29,610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% in the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after purchasing an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 11,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares during the last quarter. Transform Wealth LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,171,000. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 98.3% during the third quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 14,286 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,213,000 after purchasing an additional 7,082 shares during the period. Finally, B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 96.8% during the third quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 42,552 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,592,000 after purchasing an additional 20,930 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of WSM traded up $2.20 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $144.03. The stock had a trading volume of 1,005,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,348,163. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.56 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $142.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.20. The firm has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 through the SEC website. 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 value of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. 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 corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.83.

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.