Eagle Asset Management Inc. Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 31,199 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $4,833,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third 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 during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 413,226 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $232,613,000 after purchasing an additional 43,607 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM traded up $5.87 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $177.85. The stock had a trading volume of 3,828,603 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,978,871. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $90.87 and a one year high of $181.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $143.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $144.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 14.54% and a return on equity of 51.56%. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

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 issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.28%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 26.97%.

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.