Whittier Trust Co. Purchases 220 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Whittier Trust Co. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 650 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 220 shares during the quarter. Whittier Trust Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $101,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.3% in the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 6.1% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $419,000 after buying an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $137.54 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $142.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.83. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.56 and a 52-week high of $174.26. The company has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.52, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

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.