Berkshire Bank Invests $239,000 in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Berkshire Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,288 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Westmount Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Diversify Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in 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 buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays raised their price target 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. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $163.16.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of WSM opened at $211.72 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $187.30 and its 200 day moving average price is $157.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.76 and a 1-year high of $214.42.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued 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 1.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.