1,312 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Bought by Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC

Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,312 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Royce & Associates LP raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 75.7% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 27,982 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,335,000 after buying an additional 12,060 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 106.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,694 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $572,000 after purchasing an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 207.2% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,404 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 111.4% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,848 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $751,000 after purchasing an additional 2,555 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $130.65 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.49 and a 1-year high of $174.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.35 and a 200-day moving average of $144.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Wedbush downgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.47.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma 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.