Jeffrey Howie Sells 3,160 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.2 %

WSM stock opened at $182.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 1.81. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $94.63 and a 12-month high of $187.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $148.64 and its 200 day simple moving average is $146.17.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Smithfield Trust Co increased its position 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. 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 research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

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.