Leavell Investment Management Inc. Acquires New Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Leavell Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $214,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 144.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 4,370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 2,583 shares during the last quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter valued at about $216,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,312,000 after buying an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 1st quarter worth approximately $892,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lowered 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 cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $129.89 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $141.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.95. The firm has a market cap of $16.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.63, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $73.41 and a one year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.