Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 110.5% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 244,846 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,523 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $37,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake 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. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% in the third quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,139,000 after purchasing an additional 219,591 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $48,542,000 after buying an additional 213,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $130.65 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $141.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $144.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.49 and a 52 week high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.56 EPS. 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 27.40%.

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.