Diversify Advisory Services LLC Buys 81 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 81 shares during the quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $500,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after acquiring an additional 214,669 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $58,213,000. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the 1st 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 last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 105.7% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 350,004 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $53,948,000 after purchasing an additional 179,819 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other 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 value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. 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. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Wedbush cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.83.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $134.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.74. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $141.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $145.27. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.92 and a 1 year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.40%.

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.