Boston Trust Walden Corp Sells 10,503 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Boston Trust Walden Corp cut its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 264,649 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 10,503 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $60,324,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 26.3% during the 3rd quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 4,724 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,193,000 after acquiring an additional 983 shares during the period. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 9.3% in the 3rd quarter. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,860,000 after acquiring an additional 1,803 shares in the last quarter. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $34,885,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $7,371,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group set a $260.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 2nd. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $259.00 price objective (down from $260.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $270.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $261.00 target price (up from $230.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total transaction of $124,945.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 19,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,708,929.28. The trade was a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.20, for a total transaction of $7,742,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 853,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,799,508.80. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 39,883 shares of company stock valued at $8,867,518. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $269.82 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $237.85 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $215.54. The company has a market cap of $31.78 billion, a PE ratio of 28.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.49. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.51 and a fifty-two week high of $271.89.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.48% and a net margin of 14.73%. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.50 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.12%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

Williams-Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on home furnishings, décor, kitchenware and related products. The company operates a portfolio of lifestyle brands, including Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, West Elm, Pottery Barn Kids, Rejuvenation and Mark & Graham.

Its products include cookware, tableware, appliances, furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, home accessories, gifts and personalized merchandise. Williams-Sonoma reaches customers through e-commerce websites, retail stores, catalogs and trade and contract sales, serving both individual consumers and professional customers such as interior designers and hospitality businesses.

Founded in 1956 by Chuck Williams, the company began as a retailer specializing in high-quality French cookware before expanding into a broader home-focused portfolio.