Bank of Montreal Can Purchases New Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bank of Montreal Can purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 29,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $3,662,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 46,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,915,000 after purchasing an additional 3,373 shares in the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 14,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $56,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1,415.9% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth about $292,000. 99.76% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.2 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $154.31 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $9.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.66, a PEG ratio of 1.09 and a beta of 1.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $150.25 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $134.01. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $109.44 and a 52 week high of $164.47.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 11.68% and a return on equity of 64.43%. The business’s revenue was down 12.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.87 EPS. Research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 14.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 20th will be paid a $0.90 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 19th. This represents a $3.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 24.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $143.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $100.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.56.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 100,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $15,000,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 565,835 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $84,875,250. 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 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $15,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 565,835 shares in the company, valued at $84,875,250. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total transaction of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,630,201.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.