Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Has $2.70 Million Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 14,573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises approximately 1.7% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 3,038 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,966,000 after buying an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,641,000 after buying an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $211.72 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $26.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.76 and a fifty-two week high of $214.42. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $157.94.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSM. Barclays upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wedbush boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

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.