Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Acquires New Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 11,083 shares of the specialty retailer's stock, valued at approximately $2,052,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Heck Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Barclays raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $123.00 to $131.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $195.00 to $185.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $140.00 to $165.00 in a report on Thursday. Wedbush cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $170.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $230.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Monday, March 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $177.93.

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Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 4.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $6.67 during trading on Monday, hitting $170.32. 2,403,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,917,784. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $125.33 and a one year high of $219.98. The business's fifty day moving average is $197.13 and its 200-day moving average is $172.60.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 19th. The specialty retailer reported $3.28 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.88 by $0.40. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.34 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $5.44 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 8.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, May 24th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 17th will be given a $0.66 dividend. This is a boost from Williams-Sonoma's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 17th. This represents a $2.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.55%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is 29.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.