Sovran Advisors LLC Makes New $395,000 Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sovran Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund acquired 2,049 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 125.9% in the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 2,853 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $442,000 after buying an additional 1,590 shares during the period. Alpha Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at $216,000. CWM LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,459 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 331.4% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,698 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $203.82 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.52 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.78. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.11, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.19 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.34.

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.