Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 130,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for approximately 1.1% of Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $25,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.9% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,205,000 after acquiring an additional 4,510 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 153.7% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after acquiring an additional 7,439 shares in the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 54.9% during the 2nd quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after purchasing an additional 8,592 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1,705.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 118,371 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $19,338,000 after purchasing an additional 111,814 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 8.0% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 816,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $133,029,000 after purchasing an additional 60,163 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.71.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $211.71 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $190.41. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.07 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.58.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total value of $7,258,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 806,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,267,708.43. The trade was a 4.16% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 13,236 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. The trade was a 5.48% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.