West Coast Financial LLC Decreases Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

West Coast Financial LLC decreased its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 61,354 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 512 shares during the quarter. Williams-Sonoma comprises 1.3% of West Coast Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. West Coast Financial LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $11,361,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 22,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,162,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares during the period. Paragon Capital Management Ltd bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $206,000. SignalPoint Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $209,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 370 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cooper Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Cooper Financial Group now owns 5,845 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. TD Cowen increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.03.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $198.27 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $176.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.58. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.76 and a fifty-two week high of $200.56. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.15%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.