Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Forum Financial Management LP

Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 82.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased 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 valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased 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 valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its holdings 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 during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was 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 owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade 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 Stock Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $135.21 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $141.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $145.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.24, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.92 and a 52 week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, 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 announced 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 is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WSM. 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. Barclays reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wedbush lowered Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.83.

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.