SFE Investment Counsel Acquires 20,161 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

SFE Investment Counsel lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 100.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,195 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 20,161 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for approximately 1.3% of SFE Investment Counsel's holdings, making the stock its 27th largest position. SFE Investment Counsel's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,227,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $232,613,000 after buying an additional 43,607 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% during the first quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $223,833,000 after buying an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 64.3% during the third quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 442,815 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $68,601,000 after acquiring an additional 173,223 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

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, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company'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 transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM traded down $0.03 on Tuesday, reaching $132.47. 2,313,301 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,914,380. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $141.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.44. The firm has a market cap of $16.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.92 and a 12 month high of $174.26.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.83.

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.