Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber Sells 45,000 Shares of Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 15th, Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $211.79 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $184.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.87. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $95.76 and a one year high of $212.92. The firm has a market cap of $26.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings 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 worth $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

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.