Boston Trust Walden Corp Purchases 173,223 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 64.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 442,815 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 173,223 shares during the period. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned 0.35% of Williams-Sonoma worth $68,601,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,865 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $4,007,000 after acquiring an additional 13,054 shares in the last quarter. PFG Investments LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 99.9% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 3,230 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $500,000 after buying an additional 1,614 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 108.1% in the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 64,500 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $9,992,000 after buying an additional 33,500 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 109.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,702 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $726,000 after buying an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 95.6% in the 3rd quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 35,600 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $5,515,000 after buying an additional 17,400 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on WSM. Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.83.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business'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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business'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 owns 15,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.0 %

WSM stock traded down $2.76 during trading on Friday, hitting $134.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,617,431 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,047. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $142.20 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.69. The company has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.56 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26.

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

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm 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 $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.