West Coast Financial LLC Cuts Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

West Coast Financial LLC cut its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 61,354 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 512 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 1.3% of West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 21st largest holding. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $11,361,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after buying an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased 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 valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% in 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 valued at $171,239,000 after buying an additional 565,745 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $198.27 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.76 and a fifty-two week high of $200.56. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $176.53 and its 200-day simple moving average is $154.58. The company has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. 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.