Quent Capital LLC Acquires 337 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Quent Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 93.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Contravisory Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.0 %

WSM opened at $149.55 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.56 and a 12 month high of $174.26. The company has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a 50 day moving average of $141.76 and a 200 day moving average of $146.81.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders 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 yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 28.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.17.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the 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 owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,100 shares of company stock worth $13,563,526 over the last ninety days. 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.