Clarius Group LLC Acquires 819 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Clarius Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 819 shares during the period. Clarius Group LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $252,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Albion Financial Group UT lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 98.6% during the third quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 11,484 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 5,701 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 1,440 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 720 shares during the last quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 96.8% during the 3rd quarter. B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management now owns 42,552 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,592,000 after buying an additional 20,930 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 180.5% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 533 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 343 shares during the last quarter. Finally, High Note Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.2% in the 3rd quarter. High Note Wealth LLC now owns 1,872 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $144.35 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $71.56 and a one year high of $174.26. The firm has a market cap of $18.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.74. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $141.59 and its 200-day moving average is $146.59.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 28.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total value of $6,258,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,070,956 shares in the company, valued at $167,551,066.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.45, for a total value of $6,258,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,070,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $167,551,066.20. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $13,563,526. Corporate insiders own 1.50% 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.