Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. $WSM

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 32,337 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $7,371,000.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,656,062,000. Aristotle Capital Management LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 22.0% in the first quarter. Aristotle Capital Management LLC now owns 11,140,471 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,031,242,000 after purchasing an additional 2,009,032 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.9% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,906,785 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,376,872,000 after purchasing an additional 112,683 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 9.2% during the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 2,664,580 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $485,833,000 after purchasing an additional 224,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.4% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,479,064 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $269,640,000 after purchasing an additional 20,886 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $275.00 target price on Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Wednesday, August 26th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Telsey Advisory Group set a $260.00 price target on Williams-Sonoma and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Seaport Research Partners restated a “buy” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, August 14th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “neutral” rating on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $247.89.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $269.82 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $165.51 and a 12-month high of $271.89. The company has a market capitalization of $31.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 1.49. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $237.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.54.

Williams-Sonoma (NYSE:WSM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The specialty retailer reported $2.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. Williams-Sonoma had a net margin of 14.73% and a return on equity of 53.48%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.00 EPS. Analysts forecast that Williams-Sonoma, Inc. will post 9.50 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 20th. Investors of record on Friday, October 16th will be paid a $0.76 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, October 16th. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 31.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 35,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $221.20, for a total transaction of $7,742,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 853,524 shares in the company, valued at $188,799,508.80. This trade represents a 3.94% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Karalyn Yearout sold 522 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.36, for a total value of $124,945.92. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 19,673 shares in the company, valued at $4,708,929.28. This represents a 2.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 39,883 shares of company stock worth $8,867,518. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

Williams-Sonoma, Inc is a specialty retailer focused on home furnishings, décor, kitchenware and related products. The company operates a portfolio of lifestyle brands, including Williams Sonoma, Pottery Barn, West Elm, Pottery Barn Kids, Rejuvenation and Mark & Graham.

Its products include cookware, tableware, appliances, furniture, bedding, lighting, rugs, home accessories, gifts and personalized merchandise. Williams-Sonoma reaches customers through e-commerce websites, retail stores, catalogs and trade and contract sales, serving both individual consumers and professional customers such as interior designers and hospitality businesses.

Founded in 1956 by Chuck Williams, the company began as a retailer specializing in high-quality French cookware before expanding into a broader home-focused portfolio.