Hantz Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Hantz Financial Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 70.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,104 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,279 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the first quarter valued at $416,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 403.1% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 12,045 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,825,000 after purchasing an additional 9,651 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 81.2% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 3,348 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,063,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 28.2% during the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 19,344 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $6,106,000 after purchasing an additional 4,250 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 24.4% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 789 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $223,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $172.02 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $146.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.29. The stock has a market cap of $21.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.76. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $92.55 and a 12 month high of $181.42.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, October 18th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WSM has been the topic of several research reports. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” 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 assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $154.41.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.