Empowered Funds LLC Grows Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 163.4% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 140,833 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 87,358 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $21,818,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signature Estate & Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $203,000. Royce & Associates LP boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 75.7% in the third quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 27,982 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,335,000 after buying an additional 12,060 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 106.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 3,694 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $572,000 after acquiring an additional 1,907 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 207.2% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 6,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,011,000 after purchasing an additional 4,404 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $130.04 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $141.30 and its 200 day moving average is $144.68. The company has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a PE ratio of 15.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.49 and a 52-week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced 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 business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were 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 directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.47.

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.