Great Diamond Partners LLC Has $4.63 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Great Diamond Partners LLC lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 25,019 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 100 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma accounts for about 1.2% of Great Diamond Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest holding. Great Diamond Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during 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 boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WSM. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, 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 transaction 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. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.8 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $211.39 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.76 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $192.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given 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 dividend 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.