Romano Brothers AND Company Raises Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 99.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 33,260 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 16,580 shares during the period. Romano Brothers AND Company's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $33,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM traded down $0.83 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $137.54. 824,995 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,914,483. The stock has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.56 and a 1-year high of $174.26. The company has a 50 day moving average of $142.27 and a 200-day moving average of $145.83.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on WSM. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wedbush dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $140.83.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company Profile

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.