Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 14.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,121,741 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 197,036 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned about 0.91% of Williams-Sonoma worth $207,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. Smithfield Trust Co grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Williams-Sonoma news, 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 owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value 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. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.1 %

WSM stock opened at $192.16 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $201.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.62. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $115.41 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group increased their price target 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.