Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC Buys 19,151 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 90.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 40,241 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 19,151 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma comprises 3.2% of Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after acquiring an additional 323,400 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth $58,213,000. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 192,432 shares during the period. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $107,409,000 after buying an additional 161,000 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen lifted 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. Wedbush reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays dropped 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. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE WSM traded down $3.87 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $140.16. The company had a trading volume of 657,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,916,154. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.56 and a 1-year high of $174.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $142.39 and its 200-day moving average is $146.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s 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 owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% 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.