State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 104.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 47,065 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 24,009 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $7,291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised 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 valued at $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC raised its position in 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 acquiring an additional 219,591 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $48,542,000 after acquiring an additional 213,035 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WSM stock traded down $0.52 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $129.32. 814,572 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,916,002. The company's 50 day moving average is $141.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $144.87. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $73.41 and a 1 year high of $174.26. The firm has a market cap of $16.34 billion, a PE ratio of 15.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma's payout ratio is currently 27.40%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total value of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday. TD Cowen upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, October 11th. Finally, Wedbush lowered Williams-Sonoma from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $139.47.

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.