Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires New Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,083 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $2,052,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 51,266 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $9,493,000 after buying an additional 820 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $282,000. Signature Wealth Management Group boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Signature Wealth Management Group now owns 15,212 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,817,000 after purchasing an additional 3,286 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,288,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.3% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 114,047 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $20,728,000 after purchasing an additional 6,757 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $179.53.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $166.20 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $20.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $198.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $171.88. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $125.33 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.34 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $5.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.66 per share. This is an increase from Williams-Sonoma’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.