Plato Investment Management Ltd Has $767,000 Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 4,127 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the 4th quarter worth about $81,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 132.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 3,905 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $723,000 after purchasing an additional 2,222 shares during the last quarter. Bailard Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,091 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 255.1% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,573 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $293,000 after purchasing an additional 1,130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 16.7% during the 4th quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 14,000 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $2,592,000 after acquiring an additional 2,000 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $182.98 on Wednesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.13 and a 1-year high of $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $201.38 and its 200-day moving average is $169.03.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Gordon Haskett raised Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $190.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.28.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This represents a 2.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.