2,257 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Acquired by M.E. Allison & CO. Inc.

M.E. Allison & CO. Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 2,257 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position 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 worth $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% in 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 acquiring an additional 792,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $202.73 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $24.96 billion, a PE ratio of 23.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $179.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $155.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.76 and a fifty-two week high of $204.68.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.03.

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.