Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.

Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 82.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 232 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $36,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 6.3% during 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 period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.1% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $419,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during 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. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $137.54 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.83. The company has a market capitalization of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.56 and a 1-year high of $174.26.

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 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

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.