Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 103.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 419,176 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 212,808 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $64,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WSM. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% during the third quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,139,000 after buying an additional 219,591 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after acquiring an additional 214,669 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $48,542,000 after acquiring an additional 213,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $129.80 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.92 and a fifty-two week high of $174.26. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $141.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.92. The stock has a market cap of $16.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The company’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 1.76%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush lowered shares of Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. 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 research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.47.

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.