L2 Asset Management LLC Reduces Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

L2 Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 40.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 21,384 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 14,379 shares during the quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,493,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hood River Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $8,268,000. Ossiam raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1,383.4% in the second quarter. Ossiam now owns 5,088 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $831,000 after purchasing an additional 4,745 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 116.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 27,792 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,540,000 after purchasing an additional 14,941 shares in the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 4.2% during the second quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 3,048 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $498,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 213,744 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $34,919,000 after buying an additional 4,991 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $202.00 to $188.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 11th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $210.00 to $200.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $220.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, November 20th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares in the company, valued at $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 14,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders sold 126,653 shares of company stock valued at $24,724,440. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.5%

WSM stock opened at $179.29 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $187.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.59. The stock has a market cap of $21.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.07 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.30% and a return on equity of 53.10%. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.96 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Investors of record on Friday, October 17th were paid a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 17th. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.5%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 29.04%.

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.