MWA Asset Management Buys 2,065 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

MWA Asset Management grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 95.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,065 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $655,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Finally, Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their position. 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 dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $137.28 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.24 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The company has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $141.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.44.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.84.

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.