Ballentine Partners LLC Purchases 2,742 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 104.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,369 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,742 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.0 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $134.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.56 and a 12 month high of $174.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $142.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.69.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.83.

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.