Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 5,500 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 131.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 9,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 92.5% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 44,130 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,837,000 after acquiring an additional 21,200 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 1.5 %

WSM stock opened at $171.39 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $145.73 and its 200-day moving average is $145.38. The company has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $90.87 and a twelve month high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted 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. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.41.

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.