PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Purchases 5,337 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 109,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 5,337 shares during the quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. owned approximately 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $20,251,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 32.9% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $947,000 after purchasing an additional 1,513 shares in the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter valued at approximately $214,000. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 239.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $397,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 88.5% during the third quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $383,000 after buying an additional 1,161 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 179.3% during the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,285 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $199,000 after acquiring an additional 825 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. The trade was a 2.95 % 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays increased 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. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.28.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $185.73 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.13 and a twelve month high of $219.98. The stock has a market cap of $22.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $201.31 and a 200 day moving average of $170.38.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

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.