Human Investing LLC Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 302 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $56,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $214.88 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $198.86 and its 200 day moving average is $163.96. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.74 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 research reports. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.34.

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.