Confluence Wealth Services Inc. Sells 873 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Confluence Wealth Services Inc. reduced its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 28.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,143 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 873 shares during the period. Confluence Wealth Services Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $397,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WSM. FMR LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $171,239,000 after purchasing an additional 565,745 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 related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 over the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. Citigroup decreased their price target 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. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $209.71 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $99.80 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company’s 50-day moving average is $194.13 and its 200 day moving average is $160.82.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 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.