Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC Purchases 1,556 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 123.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,812 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,556 shares during the period. Benchmark Financial Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $436,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Radnor Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $7,952,000. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 18.1% during the 3rd quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co. now owns 15,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,413,000 after acquiring an additional 2,386 shares during the last quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.3% during the 3rd quarter. Catalina Capital Group LLC now owns 2,011 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $312,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 90.9% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 62,842 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $9,735,000 after acquiring an additional 29,918 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 91.0% during the 3rd quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 12,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,912,000 after acquiring an additional 5,883 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.2 %

WSM stock opened at $134.90 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $141.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.17. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.92 and a 12-month high of $174.26. The stock has a market capitalization 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 (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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 given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.83.

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.