Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 5,212 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 141.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,896 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,212 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. IFM Investors Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 105.1% in the third quarter. IFM Investors Pty Ltd now owns 24,595 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,810,000 after acquiring an additional 12,604 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 103.0% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 406 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 101.7% in the third quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC now owns 3,134 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $486,000 after acquiring an additional 1,580 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.1% in the third quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 3,591 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,796 shares during the period. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 162.7% in the third quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,250 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,292,000 after acquiring an additional 13,161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $132.28 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $145.18. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $71.92 and a 52 week high of $174.26. The company has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.89, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.72%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Wedbush downgraded Williams-Sonoma from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $139.83.

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.