First Bank & Trust Takes Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

First Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm purchased 1,392 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third 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. lifted 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 valued at $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $171,239,000 after buying an additional 565,745 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $209.19 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $200.43 and its 200-day moving average is $165.34. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $108.74 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $25.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.74, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.