Two Sigma Securities LLC Invests $610,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Two Sigma Securities LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,615 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $610,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the second quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the second quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Guggenheim restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $275.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Wednesday, August 26th. Argus set a $230.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group set a $260.00 price objective on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $244.44.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.49, for a total value of $254,080.88. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,962,117.33. The trade was a 4.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,156 shares of company stock valued at $738,699. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $221.86 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $165.51 and a 12 month high of $254.89. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $233.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.56.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.73% and a return on equity of 53.48%. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.46 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 17th were issued a dividend of $0.76 per share. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.12%.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams?Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on the home and culinary markets, best known for premium cookware, kitchen tools and home furnishings. The company traces its roots to a single cookware store founded by Chuck Williams in 1956 in Sonoma, California, and has evolved into a multi?brand home furnishings and housewares business. Its merchandise mix spans cookware and kitchen electrics, tabletop and food prep items, furniture, bedding, lighting and decorative accessories designed for both everyday use and higher?end interiors.

The company operates a portfolio of consumer brands that target distinct segments of the home market.