MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH Reduces Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH cut its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 57.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 28,247 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 37,887 shares during the quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $5,268,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 22.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,742 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,248,000 after purchasing an additional 1,236 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $278,000. Mutual Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter valued at about $258,000. Wesbanco Bank Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the fourth quarter worth about $378,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 42.0% in the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,679 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 2,567 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was 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 directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352 in the last 90 days. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $163.16.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $211.79 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $184.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $156.87. The company has a market cap of $26.07 billion, a PE ratio of 25.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.76 and a 1-year high of $212.92.

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 issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.