M&T Bank Corp Raises Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

M&T Bank Corp raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.4% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 27,577 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,815 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Smithfield Trust Co grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $29,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of 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 boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $191.49 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $152.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $147.60. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.02 and a 12-month high of $192.83. The firm has a market cap of $23.57 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.81.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 value of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 3.73 % 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, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,160 shares of company stock valued at $11,590,952 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.