Logan Capital Management Inc. Acquires 4,145 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Logan Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 164,540 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,145 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma makes up 1.2% of Logan Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Logan Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $29,385,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,920,000. Boston Partners bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth $254,778,000. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 30.7% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,269,461 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $443,566,000 after buying an additional 532,995 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 4,142.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 478,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $93,439,000 after buying an additional 466,804 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 307.7% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 600,526 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $117,373,000 after purchasing an additional 453,214 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.07, for a total value of $106,002.54. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 22,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,635,885.03. This trade represents a 2.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $3,000,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 923,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $184,704,800. This trade represents a 1.60% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 106,892 shares of company stock valued at $19,826,826. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Argus set a $230.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Evercore set a $200.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Weiss Ratings cut Williams-Sonoma from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 2nd. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $235.00 to $225.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $250.00 to $225.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $209.06.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $218.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $190.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $152.20 and a fifty-two week high of $222.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a PE ratio of 24.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 1.51.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 21st. The specialty retailer reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.80 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.29% and a net margin of 13.81%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.85 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 21st. Investors of record on Friday, July 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 17th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.56%.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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.