Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 44,911 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 186,605 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 44,911 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.15% of Williams-Sonoma worth $28,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st 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 acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.47.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $130.65 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $80.49 and a one year high of $174.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.35 and its 200 day simple moving average is $144.50.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 firm 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Williams-Sonoma 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.