Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Boosts Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 14.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,293 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,374 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Williams-Sonoma worth $4,172,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legacy Bridge LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Legacy Bridge LLC now owns 7,348 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $894,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.8% during the first quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 4,958 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $603,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Bell & Brown Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 21,300 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,448,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.3% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 469 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 2,350 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. 99.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $144.49 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $109.22 and a one year high of $154.83. The firm has a market cap of $9.28 billion, a PE ratio of 9.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.63. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $133.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.68.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.71 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 64.43% and a net margin of 11.68%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.87 EPS. Research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 21st were paid a $0.90 dividend. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 20th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.88%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,533 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.64, for a total value of $201,804.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 9,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,113.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,533 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.64, for a total transaction of $201,804.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,113.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 54,238 shares in the company, valued at $7,630,201.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $146.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Bank of America raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $108.00 to $146.00 in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.65.

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.