Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Buys 20,634 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 119.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 37,871 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,634 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 823,692 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $232,613,000 after purchasing an additional 43,607 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 704,919 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $223,833,000 after purchasing an additional 192,432 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 323,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 73.4% in the 2nd quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 380,383 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $107,409,000 after purchasing an additional 161,000 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,040,099. The trade was 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $158.00 to $145.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wedbush lowered their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $134.81 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.56 and a 1 year high of $174.26. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $142.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $145.69. The firm has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a PE ratio of 16.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared 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 1.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.