Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC Sells 1,599 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 18.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 6,984 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 1,599 shares during the quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 32.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares during the last quarter. Leavell Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth $214,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth $2,421,000. Kerusso Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at $1,660,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 239.1% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 2,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $397,000 after purchasing an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % 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 insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 3.5 %

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $188.83 on Monday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $201.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.00. The stock has a market cap of $23.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.13 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.21%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price target (up from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research report on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.28.

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.