Bridgewater Associates LP Increases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bridgewater Associates LP increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 299.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 145,527 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 109,070 shares during the period. Bridgewater Associates LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $22,545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WSM. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased 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. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of WSM opened at $171.37 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $145.30 and its 200 day moving average is $145.20. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $90.87 and a 12-month high of $181.42. The company has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $149,766,978.12. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.