Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Buys Shares of 826 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 826 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $120,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 154.4% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 173 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. KRS Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. CWM LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Artemis Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Finally, UMB Bank N A MO purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $41,000. 99.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Julie Whalen sold 5,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 101,239 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,161,070. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ryan Ross sold 10,400 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $127.42, for a total transaction of $1,325,168.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 21,269 shares in the company, valued at $2,710,095.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Julie Whalen sold 5,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 101,239 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,161,070. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WSM opened at $145.40 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $101.58 and a 12 month high of $223.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $126.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.12. The firm has a market cap of $10.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.44, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 1.63.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 25th. The specialty retailer reported $3.50 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.99 by $0.51. The company had revenue of $1.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 76.64% and a net margin of 13.74%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was up 8.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 16.08 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 22nd will be paid a $0.78 dividend. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 21st. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 20.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $152.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 20th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, May 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, June 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $121.00 to $100.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, June 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma to $135.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $153.69.

Williams-Sonoma Profile

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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.