Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $129.10 Million Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 98.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 833,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 413,226 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.66% of Williams-Sonoma worth $129,103,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.4 %

WSM opened at $177.85 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $144.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.90. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $90.87 and a 1-year high of $181.42. The company has a market cap of $22.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WSM. Citigroup cut 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, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.