Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 101.1% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 42,955 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,595 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,655,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WSM. National Pension Service lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $48,542,000 after buying an additional 213,035 shares in the last quarter. Centennial Bank AR raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 2,510 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $389,000 after acquiring an additional 1,255 shares during the period. HS Management Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $62,139,000 after acquiring an additional 219,591 shares in the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 82.9% during the 3rd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 2,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Finally, Nvwm LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.1% in the 3rd quarter. Nvwm LLC now owns 825 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $128,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Wedbush lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.1 %

WSM stock opened at $129.80 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $71.92 and a one year high of $174.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $141.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $144.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.40 billion, a PE ratio of 15.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current 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 given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.40%.

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.