DAVENPORT & Co LLC Acquires 1,463 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 12.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 13,341 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,463 shares during the quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,471,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Clean Yield Group acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $208.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.57 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.38.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.