Caprock Group LLC Raises Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Caprock Group LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,013 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 310 shares during the quarter. Caprock Group LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Westmount Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,156,000 after acquiring an additional 59 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, HM Payson & Co. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $211.39 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $26.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $95.76 and a 1 year high of $219.98. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.92.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. 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 report on Friday, November 8th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target 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. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

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.