Bridgewater Associates LP Purchases 109,070 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bridgewater Associates LP lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 299.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 109,070 shares during the quarter. Bridgewater Associates LP owned 0.12% of Williams-Sonoma worth $22,545,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the 3rd 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. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 659.6% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 98.4% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 833,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $129,103,000 after purchasing an additional 413,226 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $171.37 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $145.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $90.87 and a one year high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Loop Capital raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

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.