FORA Capital LLC Makes New $2.94 Million Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Key Points

• FORA Capital LLC has made a new investment of approximately $2.94 million in Williams-Sonoma, acquiring 18,613 shares of the specialty retailer's stock.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.66 per share, with a dividend yield of 1.3% and a payout ratio of 29.90%.
• Analysts have varied ratings on Williams-Sonoma, with price targets ranging from $174.00 to $230.00, reflecting a consensus rating of "Hold" at an average target price of $189.65.

FORA Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 18,613 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,943,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,248,000 after acquiring an additional 1,236 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 10.0% during the 4th quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,808 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $1,261,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 20,293 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $3,758,000 after acquiring an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 162,112 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $30,021,000 after acquiring an additional 5,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 15.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 1,902,382 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $352,283,000 after acquiring an additional 249,389 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE WSM opened at $198.11 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $24.37 billion, a PE ratio of 22.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.47. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $125.33 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $182.11 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.52.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 18th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, July 18th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.90%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $215.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $201.00 to $174.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $181.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $189.65.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $168.18, for a total transaction of $5,045,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 966,927 shares in the company, valued at $162,617,782.86. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 4,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $168.96, for a total value of $675,840.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 34,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,810,196.48. This represents a 10.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,000 shares of company stock worth $11,279,580. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.

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