Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp lowered its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 433,338 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 9,477 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $80,245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 5,654 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,596,000 after buying an additional 2,707 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 35.9% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,639 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 6.2% in the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,786 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,610,000 after purchasing an additional 741 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 93.9% during the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $108,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $211.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $192.91 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.92. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.76 and a 1-year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Wedbush upped their target price 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. Telsey Advisory Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup decreased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma 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.