JGP Wealth Management LLC Buys 27,337 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

JGP Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 249.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 38,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 27,337 shares during the quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,508,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Maseco LLP bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 130.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vermillion & White Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 99.0% during the 1st quarter. Quarry LP now owns 199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $48,000. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $51,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Telsey Advisory Group decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.71.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $189.25 on Thursday. 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 cap of $22.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.55. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $186.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $185.80.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.96 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.04%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 17,839 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.51, for a total transaction of $3,184,439.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 859,088 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,355,798.88. The trade was a 2.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company 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.