GHP Investment Advisors Inc. Trims Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

GHP Investment Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 51.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,249 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 4,471 shares during the period. GHP Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% during the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 105.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 173,621 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,897,000 after acquiring an additional 88,936 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 11,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,793,000 after acquiring an additional 5,369 shares in the last quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after acquiring an additional 5,100 shares during the period. Finally, Telos Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 95.1% in the 3rd quarter. Telos Capital Management Inc. now owns 44,860 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,950,000 after purchasing an additional 21,870 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $134.76 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.56 and a 1 year high of $174.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.20 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.63.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their target price 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. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

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 shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, 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 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.