M&T Bank Corp Has $4.27 Million Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 100.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,577 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 13,815 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 81.1% in the third quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 55,225 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $8,555,000 after acquiring an additional 24,730 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 164.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 99,291 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $15,382,000 after purchasing an additional 61,675 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 48.4% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,189 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 2,018 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC now owns 2,144 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $332,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Finally, Kensington Investment Counsel LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 49.9% in the 3rd quarter. Kensington Investment Counsel LLC now owns 50,446 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,815,000 after purchasing an additional 16,791 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $191.49 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $152.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.81. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.02 and a 1 year high of $192.83.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock 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 issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $154.41.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,160 shares of company stock valued at $11,590,952 over the last 90 days. 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.