Smith Group Asset Management LLC Cuts Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 66.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,780 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 3,530 shares during the quarter. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $330,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $216.70 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.74. The firm has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.76 and a fifty-two week high of $217.64.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. 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. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.16.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.