Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.

Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 5.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,473 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 1,223 shares during the quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $4,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report 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 report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.03.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 2.9 %

WSM stock opened at $198.27 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $176.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.58. The company has a market cap of $24.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.45, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.76 and a 12-month high of $200.56.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given 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 1.15%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, 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 transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.