Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Meritage Portfolio Management

Meritage Portfolio Management decreased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 21.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,983 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 20,136 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma makes up approximately 1.0% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th largest position. Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $14,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Groupe la Francaise grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 8.2% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 2.1% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 3,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $493,000 after buying an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,936 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $378,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.6% during the third quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,879 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 17,839 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.51, for a total transaction of $3,184,439.89. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 859,088 shares in the company, valued at $153,355,798.88. This trade represents a 2.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.71.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $206.40 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.07 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $24.64 billion, a PE ratio of 22.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $186.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.40.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 29.04%.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.