Citigroup Inc. Has $85.07 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 549,118 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 274,983 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $85,069,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during 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 during the last quarter. KBC Group NV raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 659.6% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 531,304 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $82,309,000 after purchasing an additional 461,361 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 98.4% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 833,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $129,103,000 after purchasing an additional 413,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 536.3% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 383,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $108,345,000 after purchasing an additional 323,400 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $171.88 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $90.31 and a 52 week high of $181.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $143.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.74.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $1.79 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.56% and a net margin of 14.54%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 8.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 91,100 shares of company stock worth $12,525,126. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.