Modera Wealth Management LLC Lowers Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Modera Wealth Management LLC cut its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 222,492 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 11,121 shares during the quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC owned approximately 0.18% of Williams-Sonoma worth $41,201,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FMR LLC lifted 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 valued at $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the third 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 lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $418,223,000 after buying an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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. lifted its position in shares of 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 valued at $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 49,568 shares of company stock worth $10,183,355 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on WSM shares. Royal Bank of Canada increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.28.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $194.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $115.79 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $201.46 and its 200-day simple moving average is $168.18.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.17%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.