The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Buys 41,138 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 76.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 94,973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 41,138 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $14,713,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 833,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $129,103,000 after purchasing an additional 413,226 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,613,000 after purchasing an additional 43,607 shares during the period. Finally, Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 549,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $85,069,000 after purchasing an additional 274,983 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $172.02 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $146.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $145.29. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $92.55 and a fifty-two week high of $181.42. The firm has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.41.

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.