Blue Investment Partners LLC Boosts Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Blue Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 67.9% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,963 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 794 shares during the quarter. Blue Investment Partners LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 76.4% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 94,973 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $14,713,000 after purchasing an additional 41,138 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 150.1% during the third quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 1,961 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $304,000 after buying an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 102.3% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 2,988 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $463,000 after buying an additional 1,511 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 131.0% in the third quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 9,700 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,503,000 after acquiring an additional 5,500 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Round Hill Asset Management lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 98.0% in the third quarter. Round Hill Asset Management now owns 9,787 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,516,000 after acquiring an additional 4,843 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.4 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $177.85 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.03, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $90.87 and a 12 month high of $181.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $144.29 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.90.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.28%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $150.00 to $140.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $154.41.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.27, for a total transaction of $5,810,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,030,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $149,766,978.12. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Karalyn Smith sold 11,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $134.66, for a total transaction of $1,494,726.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,040,099. The trade was a 42.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 91,100 shares of company stock valued at $12,525,126. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.