Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC Buys 50,000 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 83.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 110,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,000 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma makes up approximately 1.3% of Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. Pacific Heights Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $17,041,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.3% during the 1st quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 1,199 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 6.1% during the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 1,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $419,000 after acquiring an additional 76 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EntryPoint Capital LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $132.28 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a PE ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.18. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.92 and a twelve month high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during 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 revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.83.

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.