Handelsbanken Fonder AB Purchases 48,760 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 146.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 82,020 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,760 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB owned approximately 0.06% of Williams-Sonoma worth $12,707,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Gleason Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 0.4% during the first quarter. Gleason Group Inc. now owns 8,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,848,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 4.4% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 1,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $389,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.6% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 617 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $196,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% in the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 12.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 634 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $201,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $149.55 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.56 and a 12 month high of $174.26. The stock has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $146.81.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.01%.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $13,563,526 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. 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. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $170.00 price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday, August 19th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Barclays reduced their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $141.17.

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.