Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. Purchases Shares of 560 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $104,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.34.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.9 %

WSM opened at $208.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $193.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $160.38. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.57 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.65, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued 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 payout ratio is 26.97%.

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.