GAMMA Investing LLC Has $302,000 Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

GAMMA Investing LLC cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,633 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 79 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $302,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 118.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 622,279 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $96,403,000 after buying an additional 337,564 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 84.5% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,020,489 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $158,085,000 after purchasing an additional 467,407 shares during the last quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 106.2% during the third quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,885 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $602,000 after purchasing an additional 2,001 shares in the last quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 98.0% during the third quarter. Logan Capital Management Inc. now owns 182,328 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $28,246,000 after purchasing an additional 90,230 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 72.3% during the third quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 206,645 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $32,013,000 after purchasing an additional 86,742 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % 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 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $200.06 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.76 and a 12 month high of $200.56. The stock has a market cap of $24.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The company has a 50 day moving average of $166.44 and a 200 day moving average of $151.94.

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 $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WSM. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.03.

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.