Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Trims Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC lowered its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 8.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Heck Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 9,013 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 57,495 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $10,647,000 after buying an additional 399 shares during the last quarter. Berkshire Bank bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth $239,000. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 563,058 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $104,267,000 after acquiring an additional 31,754 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price 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. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.8 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $211.39 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.12 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.55. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.76 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The company has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued 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 yield of 1.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.