Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Purchased by PNC Financial Services Group Inc.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 103.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 104,022 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,954 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned about 0.08% of Williams-Sonoma worth $16,115,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the third 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. KBC Group NV lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 659.6% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 531,304 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $82,309,000 after purchasing an additional 461,361 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% in the third quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $62,139,000 after purchasing an additional 219,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $272,462,000 after buying an additional 214,669 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.2 %

WSM stock opened at $172.95 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $142.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.55. The company has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $89.87 and a 52 week high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.56 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.95 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued 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 1.32%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Loop Capital lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.