Vestcor Inc Buys 49,235 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Vestcor Inc lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 74.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 115,026 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 49,235 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $17,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $171,239,000 after purchasing an additional 565,745 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE WSM opened at $190.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $23.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.49, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a 50 day moving average of $150.04 and a 200-day moving average of $146.69. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $94.63 and a 1-year high of $192.83.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.20%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’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 value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 83,160 shares of company stock worth $11,590,952. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush raised 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. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $148.00 to $156.00 in a report on Wednesday, September 11th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

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.