Arizona State Retirement System Lowers Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Arizona State Retirement System lowered its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,696 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 152 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,795,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 4,901 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after buying an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after buying an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $188.83 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $201.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $169.59. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.13 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $23.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.33, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on WSM shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group lifted 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. Finally, Wedbush reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.28.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.