Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Commerce Bank

Commerce Bank increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 136.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 9,801 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,654 shares during the quarter. Commerce Bank’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,518,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 659.6% in the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 531,304 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $82,309,000 after purchasing an additional 461,361 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares during the period. HS Management Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% in the 3rd quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $62,139,000 after purchasing an additional 219,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $171.98 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.31 and a 12-month high of $181.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $143.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $144.87. The firm has a market cap of $21.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.34, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

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.