Virtue Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Virtue Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 6,628 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Virtue Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,027,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WSM. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Smithfield Trust Co raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 83,160 shares of company stock worth $11,590,952. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of WSM opened at $186.75 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $150.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $146.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $94.63 and a twelve month high of $192.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.81.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.