CWA Asset Management Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 29.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 20,281 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,651 shares during the quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,756,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Pensionfund Sabic purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma during the fourth quarter valued at $1,574,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 48.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 527,740 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $97,875,000 after purchasing an additional 172,409 shares in the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at $648,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,403,000 after purchasing an additional 337,564 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,085,000 after buying an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’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 value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $160.03.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM traded up $3.75 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $196.45. The stock had a trading volume of 250,120 shares, compared to its average volume of 864,442. The company’s 50-day moving average is $166.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $151.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.23, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.76 and a 12 month high of $199.41.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. 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 1.16%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.