Simon Quick Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Simon Quick Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,233 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was 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 owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 a total of 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 over the last ninety days. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $213.91 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.63 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.25. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.76 and a 12 month high of $214.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.33 billion, a PE ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

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.