Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 85,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,671 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $19,847,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at $227,000. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $1,644,000. Guggenheim Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% in the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 260 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Credit Suisse Group set a $261.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $245.56.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $227.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.84 billion, a PE ratio of 23.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $254.89. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $232.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.02.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.73% and a return on equity of 53.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.48 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 1,112 shares of the firm’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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 21,717 shares in the company, valued at $4,962,117.33. This trade represents a 4.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 2,634 shares of company stock worth $632,696 in the last three months. 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.