Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB decreased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 23.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,363 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,051 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $623,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during 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 during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI lifted their price target 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. Wedbush upped 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $209.73 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.76 and a 52-week high of $210.91. The company has a market cap of $25.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.81, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $180.75 and its 200-day moving average is $155.99.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.