Fulton Bank N.A. Has $794,000 Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Fulton Bank N.A. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.2% during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,347 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 134 shares during the period. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $794,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 46,227 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $6,915,000 after buying an additional 3,373 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 14,762 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,140,000 after acquiring an additional 1,300 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 391,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $56,712,000 after acquiring an additional 1,049 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1,415.9% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,092 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $292,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.76% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $144.04 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $136.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $125.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.95, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.61. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $109.22 and a fifty-two week high of $146.29.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 23rd. The specialty retailer reported $3.12 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.71 by $0.41. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.96 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 64.43% and a net margin of 11.68%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 12.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.87 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 13.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on WSM shares. Bank of America upgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $108.00 to $146.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Wedbush raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $120.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $115.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Citigroup raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $115.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total transaction of $1,406,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 54,238 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,630,201.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 1,533 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.64, for a total transaction of $201,804.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,185 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,113.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Marta Benson sold 10,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $140.68, for a total value of $1,406,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 54,238 shares in the company, valued at $7,630,201.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.60% of the company’s stock.

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.