Meritage Portfolio Management Reduces Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Meritage Portfolio Management lessened its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 103,632 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,299 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma comprises about 1.2% of Meritage Portfolio Management’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. Meritage Portfolio Management owned about 0.08% of Williams-Sonoma worth $19,191,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased 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 purchasing 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 acquiring an additional 792,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $208.43 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $193.45 and its 200 day simple moving average is $160.38. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.57 and a 12 month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on WSM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.34.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352. Corporate 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.