5,334 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Acquired by GSA Capital Partners LLP

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 5,334 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its position 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 worth $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% during the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, TFG Advisers LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.1% during the second quarter. TFG Advisers LLC now owns 2,746 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $776,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WSM opened at $130.65 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $141.35 and a 200 day moving average of $144.50. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.49 and a 12 month high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced 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. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.