Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Boosts Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 162.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,602 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,071 shares during the quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake 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 valued at $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised 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 valued at $82,309,000 after buying an additional 461,361 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,345,000 after buying an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 219,591 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $272,462,000 after acquiring an additional 214,669 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $137.28 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a PE ratio of 16.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.44. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.24 and a 1 year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 EPS. Williams-Sonoma’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.98 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $165.00 price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $138.84.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is 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.