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

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

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Hobbs Group Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. TD Cowen raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of 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. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wedbush decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $175.00 to $150.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Evercore ISI cut their target price on 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at $149,766,978.12. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at $2,040,099. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $134.81 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.19, a PEG ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $142.20 and a 200 day moving average of $145.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.56 and a 1-year high of $174.26.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. Williams-Sonoma’s quarterly revenue was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.56 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.69%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.39%.

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.