Vest Financial LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Vest Financial LLC cut its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 190,679 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 455 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $35,310,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. Tobam purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth approximately $55,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 252,289 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $46,719,000 after purchasing an additional 7,443 shares during the last quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 5,809 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,076,000 after purchasing an additional 219 shares during the last quarter. Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter worth about $225,000. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter valued at about $416,000. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.8 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $207.26 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $161.51. The stock has a market cap of $25.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $103.50 and a 12-month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

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.