Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 57.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 28,247 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 37,887 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,268,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 675.8% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 56,488 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $15,950,000 after buying an additional 49,207 shares during the period. Frank Rimerman Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at $253,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth $2,389,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 49.2% during the 2nd quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 2,181 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $616,000 after purchasing an additional 719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 202.2% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 86,359 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,498,000 after buying an additional 57,780 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of Williams-Sonoma 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $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. Insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 in the last quarter. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, 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 research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research 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. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.16.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $211.79 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.76 and a 12 month high of $212.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $184.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $156.87.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. 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 1.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.