Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Bought by Cerity Partners LLC

Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 51.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 68,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 23,318 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $11,197,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. Bison Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $227,000. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $234,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $85,075,000. Finally, Public Sector Pension Investment Board purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth about $2,645,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSM. Argus set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Tuesday, September 2nd. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.00.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.5%

WSM opened at $186.72 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.07 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a 50 day moving average of $187.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.90. The company has a market cap of $22.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.54, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The business had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 29.04%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 12,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $181.07, for a total transaction of $2,201,992.27. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 846,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $153,353,071.89. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 126,653 shares of company stock valued at $24,724,440 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.