National Pension Service Acquires 3,200 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 316,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $58,616,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. 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 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 report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM stock opened at $192.16 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $201.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.62. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.41 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.19%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. The trade was 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.

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.