Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Makes New $46.48 Million Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 300,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $46,476,000. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund owned 0.24% of Williams-Sonoma at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 19.7% during the first quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 358 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $114,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $3,906,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the first quarter valued at $416,000. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 25.3% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 81,943 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,019,000 after purchasing an additional 16,558 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 403.1% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,045 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 9,651 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WSM. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 value of $5,810,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $171.37 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.87 and a 12 month high of $181.42. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $145.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.20.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.97%.

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.