Coston McIsaac & Partners Grows Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Coston McIsaac & Partners boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 90.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 67,325 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,988 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for about 2.9% of Coston McIsaac & Partners’ holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Coston McIsaac & Partners owned about 0.05% of Williams-Sonoma worth $10,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Novare Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 68.7% in the 3rd quarter. Novare Capital Management LLC now owns 10,145 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,572,000 after buying an additional 4,132 shares during the period. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 86.5% in the third quarter. Tilia Fiduciary Partners Inc. now owns 11,575 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,793,000 after purchasing an additional 5,369 shares in the last quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Mogy Joel R Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 10,200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,580,000 after buying an additional 5,100 shares during the period. Transform Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth $2,171,000. Finally, OmniStar Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth about $744,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM traded down $0.36 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $139.54. The stock had a trading volume of 228,183 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,912,837. The firm has a market cap of $17.63 billion, a PE ratio of 16.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 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 moving average is $142.35 and its 200 day moving average is $145.94.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price target 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 research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other 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 value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 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 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.