1834 Investment Advisors Co. Acquires 2,386 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

1834 Investment Advisors Co. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,578 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,386 shares during the quarter. 1834 Investment Advisors Co.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,413,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in 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. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wedbush downgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $134.90 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.92 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $141.66 and a 200-day moving average of $145.17. The company has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.20, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted 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. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 1.69%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.