Sovran Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 2,049 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Sovran Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,049 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $395,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in 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 period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in 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 period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $203.82 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $197.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.78. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $108.19 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.12%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSM. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.34.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.