Metis Global Partners LLC Acquires 2,555 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 111.4% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,848 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,555 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $751,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during 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 purchasing an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,613,000 after acquiring an additional 43,607 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,833,000 after acquiring an additional 192,432 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 659.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 531,304 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $82,309,000 after acquiring an additional 461,361 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $130.65 on Monday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $80.49 and a 1-year high of $174.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $141.35 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. Wedbush cut shares of 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $139.47.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 value of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.