Kozak & Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Kozak & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $39,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after buying an additional 4,901 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after buying an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,966,000 after purchasing an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently commented on WSM. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.03.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of Williams-Sonoma stock traded up $6.02 during trading on Monday, hitting $198.72. 755,859 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,020,030. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.76 and a 52-week high of $200.38. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $166.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.99. The firm has a market cap of $24.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

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.