E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Buys 1,000 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,400 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,000 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,185,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $28,000. Clean Yield Group bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction 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 $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $209.71 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $194.13 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $160.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $99.80 and a one year high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $25.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WSM. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

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.