Cullen Investment Group LTD. Sells 113 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Cullen Investment Group LTD. decreased its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,235 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 113 shares during the period. Cullen Investment Group LTD.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $229,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Westmount Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $500,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.03.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE:WSM opened at $192.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $175.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $154.27. The company has a market cap of $23.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $95.76 and a fifty-two week high of $200.56.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.18%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

Insider Activity

In other 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 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 represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.