Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 4,370 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 244,254 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,370 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.20% of Williams-Sonoma worth $47,740,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.9% in the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 16,398 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,205,000 after purchasing an additional 4,510 shares during the last quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 51.5% in the 3rd quarter. EFG Asset Management North America Corp. now owns 14,593 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,852,000 after acquiring an additional 4,961 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.2% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 997,414 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $194,947,000 after purchasing an additional 231,489 shares during the last quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 54.9% during the second quarter. Soltis Investment Advisors LLC now owns 24,245 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,961,000 after purchasing an additional 8,592 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 153.7% in the second quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 12,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,016,000 after purchasing an additional 7,439 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.4%

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $211.52 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.07 and a 12 month high of $221.81. The firm has a market cap of $25.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $200.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $195.52.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Telsey Advisory Group lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. UBS Group set a $175.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore set a $215.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $202.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.39, for a total value of $7,258,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 806,537 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $167,267,708.43. This trade represents a 4.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $205.16, for a total transaction of $157,357.72. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 13,236 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,715,497.76. This represents a 5.48% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 65,767 shares of company stock valued at $12,802,440 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.