Eagle Asset Management Inc. Takes $4.83 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 31,199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $4,833,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $389,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $500,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WSM opened at $171.98 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $143.63 and a 200-day moving average of $144.77. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.31 and a 52 week high of $181.42.

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 return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Loop Capital increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126 in the last 90 days. 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.