Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $37.93 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM - Free Report) by 110.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 244,846 shares of the specialty retailer's stock after acquiring an additional 128,523 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.19% of Williams-Sonoma worth $37,932,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position 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 worth $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position 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 worth $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. HS Management Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 121.0% during the third quarter. HS Management Partners LLC now owns 401,105 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $62,139,000 after purchasing an additional 219,591 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.6% during the second 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 boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer's stock worth $48,542,000 after purchasing an additional 213,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company's stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE: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. The company has a fifty day moving average of $141.35 and a 200-day moving average of $144.50. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.49 and a twelve month high of $174.26. The company has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.69, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.56 EPS. The business's revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.39%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,040,099. This represents a 42.29 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI cut 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup cut their price objective 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wedbush cut shares of Williams-Sonoma from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $150.00 to $135.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently 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.