Journey Strategic Wealth LLC Makes New Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Journey Strategic Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,285 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after buying an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $204.54 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $97.57 and a 12 month high of $219.98. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.91 and a 200 day moving average price of $159.99. The company has a market cap of $25.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, 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 value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target 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. Two 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.34.

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.