Goelzer Investment Management Inc. Trims Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Goelzer Investment Management Inc. reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,977 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 772 shares during the period. Goelzer Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,292,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during 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 during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% in the third 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 valued at $171,239,000 after purchasing an additional 565,745 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WSM shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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 a total of 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $213.91 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $185.63 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.30, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.76 and a 12 month high of $214.42.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend 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.