Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Position Increased by Atria Investments Inc

Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 239.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after acquiring an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% in the 3rd quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $62,139,000 after acquiring an additional 219,591 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $48,542,000 after acquiring an additional 213,035 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was 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 owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % 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 $12,525,126 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $172.95 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $142.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.87 and a 52 week high of $181.42. The company has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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. Wedbush upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

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.