Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) is HS Management Partners LLC’s 8th Largest Position

HS Management Partners LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 379,198 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 21,907 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for about 4.8% of HS Management Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. HS Management Partners LLC owned about 0.31% of Williams-Sonoma worth $70,220,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSM. FMR LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during 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 raised its position 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 raised its position 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 worth $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position 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 worth $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position 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 worth $160,537,000 after acquiring an additional 792,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 2.2 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $187.50 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $169.16. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.13 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the subject of several research reports. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.28.

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.