GSA Capital Partners LLP Invests $826,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,334 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $826,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% during the third quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $62,139,000 after acquiring an additional 219,591 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $272,462,000 after acquiring an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $48,542,000 after acquiring an additional 213,035 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $130.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,885,321 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,857,123. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $141.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.49 and a 1-year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. Williams-Sonoma's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. Analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.