Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by Impax Asset Management Group plc

Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 207.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,529 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,404 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,011,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the period. Clean Yield Group acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was 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 corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $129.47 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.54 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.06. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.92 and a 52 week high of $174.26. The company has a market capitalization of $16.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.76.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.83.

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.