Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Position Increased by Affinity Investment Advisors LLC

Affinity Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,272 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,636 shares during the quarter. Affinity Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $817,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. 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 is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush lowered Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $132.28 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.92 and a 52-week high of $174.26. The company has a market cap of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $141.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.18.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

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.