Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Bought by Fmr LLC

Fmr LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 72.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. Fmr LLC owned 0.07% of Williams-Sonoma worth $1,360,384,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 worth $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 98.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 833,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $129,103,000 after acquiring an additional 413,226 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $232,613,000 after acquiring an additional 43,607 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 549,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $85,069,000 after acquiring an additional 274,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.1 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $174.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $144.82 and a 200-day moving average of $145.01. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.87 and a 52 week high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate 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.