Voya Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Voya Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 184.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 861,236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 558,311 shares during the period. Voya Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $167,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $212,107,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 740.4% in the 2nd quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 591,690 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $96,664,000 after buying an additional 521,283 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 38,589.3% during the first quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 451,891 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $71,444,000 after acquiring an additional 450,723 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.6% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 1,741,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $284,532,000 after acquiring an additional 407,929 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30.0% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,736,466 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $283,686,000 after acquiring an additional 401,138 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group set a $175.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $206.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $190.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.00.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 3,500 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.79, for a total value of $695,765.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 14,003 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,783,656.37. This trade represents a 20.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 12,161 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $181.07, for a total value of $2,201,992.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 846,927 shares in the company, valued at $153,353,071.89. The trade was a 1.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 33,500 shares of company stock worth $6,082,197. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $189.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $22.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $130.07 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 19th. The specialty retailer reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.87 by $0.09. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 53.10% and a net margin of 14.30%.The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.86 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.36 EPS for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 16th will be paid a $0.66 dividend. This represents a $2.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 16th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.04%.

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.