KBC Group NV Increases Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 659.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 531,304 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 461,361 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned 0.42% of Williams-Sonoma worth $82,309,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 520.0% during the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 93 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through the SEC website. In related 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 value of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $129.54 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $76.19 and a one year high of $174.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 22nd. The specialty retailer reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $1.79 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a return on equity of 51.57% and a net margin of 14.29%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 7.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 27.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of 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 dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.