Royce & Associates LP Purchases 12,060 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 75.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 27,982 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after purchasing an additional 12,060 shares during the quarter. Royce & Associates LP's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,335,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Quent Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $114,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 7,281 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $2,312,000 after purchasing an additional 1,629 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 39.6% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 13,383 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $4,250,000 after buying an additional 3,798 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter worth approximately $314,000. Finally, TIAA Trust National Association acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related 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 transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total value of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an "outperform" rating and set a $165.00 target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. Barclays lowered their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $232.00 to $116.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $138.84.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM traded up $3.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $137.28. 4,078,808 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,933,854. The company has a market cap of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $141.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $144.44. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $88.24 and a one year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 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 given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

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.