Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 10,034 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,607 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,858,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 buying an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $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 increased its position 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 worth $171,239,000 after acquiring an additional 565,745 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $194.44 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $200.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $166.45. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.25 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given 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 1.17%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.34.

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.