Albion Financial Group UT Has $1.78 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Albion Financial Group UT increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 98.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 11,484 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,701 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,779,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth $32,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total transaction of $6,258,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,070,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,551,066.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total transaction of $6,258,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,551,066.20. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,526 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.17.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $141.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $141.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $146.75. The stock has a market cap of $17.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $71.56 and a one year high of $174.26.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.39%.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.