Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM Shares Sold by Inscription Capital LLC

Inscription Capital LLC lowered its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 41.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,966 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,583 shares during the quarter. Inscription Capital LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,656,062,000. Aristotle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% during the 1st quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $2,031,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009,032 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,906,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,376,872,000 after purchasing an additional 112,683 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,664,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,833,000 after purchasing an additional 224,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,479,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $269,640,000 after purchasing an additional 20,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total value of $124,945.92. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,673 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,708,929.28. This trade represents a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $221.20, for a total transaction of $7,742,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 853,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $188,799,508.80. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 39,361 shares of company stock worth $8,738,903 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Monday, August 31st. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $248.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, October 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $247.89.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $258.63 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $165.51 and a 1-year high of $274.45. The company has a market capitalization of $30.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 1.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $238.26 and a 200-day moving average of $215.78.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.48% and a net margin of 14.73%. The company’s revenue was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.50 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 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 16th will be issued a $0.76 dividend. This represents a $3.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.12%.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on home furnishings, décor, kitchenware and related products. The company operates a portfolio of lifestyle brands, including Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, West Elm, Pottery Barn Kids, Rejuvenation and Mark & Graham.

Its products include cookware, tableware, appliances, furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, home accessories, gifts and personalized merchandise. Williams-Sonoma reaches customers through e-commerce websites, retail stores, catalogs and trade and contract sales, serving both individual consumers and professional customers such as interior designers and hospitality businesses.

Founded in 1956 by Chuck Williams, the company began as a retailer specializing in high-quality French cookware before expanding into a broader home-focused portfolio.