ORG Partners LLC Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

ORG Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 250 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $46,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 16.3% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,797 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,037,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Choreo LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 119.6% in the 2nd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 1,893 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $525,000 after purchasing an additional 1,031 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $390,000. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 24,561 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $7,047,000 after purchasing an additional 5,217 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $197.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.26 billion, a PE ratio of 23.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $95.76 and a 52 week high of $200.56. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $172.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $153.51.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.98%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, 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. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $160.03.

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.