Wendell David Associates Inc. Decreases Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Wendell David Associates Inc. trimmed its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,500 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 200 shares during the quarter. Wendell David Associates Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $648,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position 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 worth $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings 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 worth $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $171,239,000 after purchasing an additional 565,745 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 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 value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $212.09 on Thursday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.76 and a 1-year high of $212.92. The company has a market capitalization of $26.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $182.36 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.48.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. 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 payout ratio is 26.97%.

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.