Laura Alber Sells 45,000 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Stock

Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Laura Alber also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, November 15th, Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of WSM opened at $213.91 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.76 and a 1 year high of $214.42. The stock has a market cap of $26.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $185.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.25.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.98%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Williams-Sonoma

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trust Point Inc. boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 46.6% during the fourth quarter. Trust Point Inc. now owns 3,969 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $735,000 after buying an additional 1,262 shares during the last quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 3,593.8% during the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 2,364 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $438,000 after purchasing an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 57.2% during the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 1,096 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $203,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $238,000. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Wedbush lifted 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. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Telsey Advisory Group raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.16.

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.