KBC Group NV Purchases 461,361 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

KBC Group NV raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 659.6% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 531,304 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 461,361 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $82,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 valued at $158,085,000 after acquiring an additional 467,407 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $272,462,000 after purchasing an additional 214,669 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,613,000 after buying an additional 43,607 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% in the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $223,833,000 after buying an additional 192,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 64.3% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 442,815 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $68,601,000 after buying an additional 173,223 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’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 transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.3 %

WSM stock opened at $129.54 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.19 and a 52 week high of $174.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.79.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.29% and a return on equity of 51.57%. The business’s revenue was down 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush lowered 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 note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $139.47.

Williams-Sonoma 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.