McBroom & Associates LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

McBroom & Associates LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,180 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,090 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for about 0.4% of McBroom & Associates LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. McBroom & Associates LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $648,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Novare Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% in the third quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,572,000 after acquiring an additional 4,132 shares in the last quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 11,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,369 shares during the last quarter. Transform Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $2,171,000. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 98.3% during the 3rd quarter. Shulman DeMeo Asset Management LLC now owns 14,286 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,213,000 after buying an additional 7,082 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B & T Capital Management DBA Alpha Capital Management increased its position 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 valued at $6,592,000 after buying an additional 20,930 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of WSM opened at $144.03 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $142.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $146.20. The company has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.30, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.56 and a 52 week high of $174.26.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.