Jump Financial LLC Invests $5.46 Million in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 33,402 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $5,457,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Stenger Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth approximately $172,000. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 4,631 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Amundi increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 992,183 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $165,080,000 after buying an additional 171,556 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $283,686,000 after buying an additional 401,138 shares during the period. Finally, Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.0% in the 2nd quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 4,153 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $678,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. UBS Group set a $175.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.00.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total transaction of $626,942.52. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,787,999.92. The trade was a 8.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 12,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.07, for a total transaction of $2,201,992.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 846,927 shares in the company, valued at $153,353,071.89. This represents a 1.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 126,653 shares of company stock valued at $24,724,440. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $180.36 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $187.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.88. The company has a market cap of $21.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.84, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $130.07 and a one year high of $219.98.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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