Bank of Stockton Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bank of Stockton grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 93.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,074 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,774 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 0.8% of Bank of Stockton’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest holding. Bank of Stockton’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% during the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents 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 this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock traded up $0.16 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $137.68. 113,807 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,905,783. The business’s fifty day moving average is $142.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $145.83. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.56 and a 12-month high of $174.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.