Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Has $1.17 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 186.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after acquiring an additional 323,400 shares during the period. HS Management Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% during the third quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $62,139,000 after acquiring an additional 219,591 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,462,000 after acquiring an additional 214,669 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $48,542,000 after acquiring an additional 213,035 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $133.89 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.24 and a 52-week high of $174.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $144.52.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. Citigroup cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.47.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.