Concord Asset Management LLC VA Boosts Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Concord Asset Management LLC VA grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 129.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 26,128 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after buying an additional 14,754 shares during the period. Concord Asset Management LLC VA's holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,048,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted 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 worth $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 659.6% in the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 531,304 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $82,309,000 after acquiring an additional 461,361 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $108,345,000 after acquiring an additional 323,400 shares during the period. HS Management Partners LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% during the 3rd quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $62,139,000 after purchasing an additional 219,591 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 964,910 shares of the specialty retailer's stock valued at $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM traded down $0.17 on Friday, reaching $130.65. 1,885,321 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,857,123. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.49 and a twelve month high of $174.26. The stock has a market cap of $16.51 billion, a PE ratio of 15.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $141.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $144.50.

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

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.75%. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. Evercore ISI cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus 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.