Paragon Capital Management Inc. Acquires 5,497 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Paragon Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 101.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,942 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,497 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for about 1.2% of Paragon Capital Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. Paragon Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 215,299 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $43,443,000 after buying an additional 33,157 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 1st quarter worth approximately $4,574,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at approximately $234,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter worth approximately $53,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents 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.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $150.90 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.41 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.74. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.56 and a 1 year high of $174.26. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $142.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.38.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for 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%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 28.01%.

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.