Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 11,252 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,626 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,743,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.6% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $196,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 10.1% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 2,956 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 11.7% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,499 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $794,000 after acquiring an additional 262 shares during the period. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Gleason Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 8,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.0 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $139.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.78, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 1.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $142.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $146.04. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.56 and a 52 week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, October 11th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma 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.