Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC Sells 235 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC reduced its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 8.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,560 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 235 shares during the quarter. Alpha Omega Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $474,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after purchasing an additional 4,901 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in 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 increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted 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 acquiring an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.8 %

NYSE WSM opened at $211.39 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.76 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $192.12 and its 200-day moving average price is $159.55. The stock has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a PE ratio of 25.00, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.