Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Position Increased by Fulcrum Capital LLC

Fulcrum Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,720 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,860 shares during the period. Fulcrum Capital LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, ORG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 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 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 firm’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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, 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. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.2 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $138.22 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.56 and a 1 year high of $174.26. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $142.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $145.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.46 billion, a PE ratio of 16.60, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

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.