Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Buys 792,068 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 792,068 shares during the quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $160,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $171,239,000 after purchasing an additional 565,745 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 98.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 833,355 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $129,103,000 after buying an additional 413,226 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $177.38 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $146.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.81. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $94.63 and a fifty-two week high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Friday, October 18th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.