Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. Has $2.70 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Cascade Investment Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 14,573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 350 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma accounts for 1.7% of Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 8th largest holding. Cascade Investment Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,699,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in 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 period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% in the 3rd 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. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 0.9 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $211.72 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.04, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $187.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $157.94. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.76 and a 52 week high of $214.42.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on WSM shares. 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Williams-Sonoma 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.