Nomura Holdings Inc. Boosts Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1,442.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 60,072 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 56,178 shares during the quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $9,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,991,697 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $978,864,000 after purchasing an additional 127,597 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $284,532,000 after buying an additional 407,929 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $283,686,000 after buying an additional 401,138 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 34.1% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 1,436,839 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $227,164,000 after buying an additional 365,718 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth approximately $212,107,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $187.39 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.07 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $186.82 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $184.40. The firm has a market cap of $22.37 billion, a PE ratio of 20.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.55.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.96 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 17th were issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.04%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 12,161 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.07, for a total value of $2,201,992.27. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 846,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $153,353,071.89. This trade represents a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,153 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.84, for a total value of $626,942.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 34,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,787,999.92. This represents a 8.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,653 shares of company stock valued at $6,709,140. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $179.00 to $203.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $168.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, ten have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.00.

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.