Impax Asset Management Group plc Decreases Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Impax Asset Management Group plc cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,449 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 80 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,194,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the third 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 during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after purchasing an additional 9,509 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSM. Citigroup cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $196.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.17 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.25 and a 52-week high of $219.98. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $200.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $167.23.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.98%.

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.