Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 94.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,088 shares during the period. Prime Capital Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $347,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Savvy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $218,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 110.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 244,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,932,000 after purchasing an additional 128,523 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at $826,000. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $883,000. Finally, Jeppson Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jeppson Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,024 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $468,000 after buying an additional 1,492 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $130.65 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.35 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $144.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.70, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.49 and a 52-week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders 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 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Citigroup lowered their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.47.

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.