Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. Acquires 13,161 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 162.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,250 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,161 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the 2nd 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 during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $58,213,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 192,432 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $107,409,000 after purchasing an additional 161,000 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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. Telsey Advisory Group reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.6 %

WSM stock opened at $137.54 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $142.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $145.83. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.56 and a twelve month high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 business earned $1.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS 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 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 dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now 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 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 business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by 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.