Grace & White Inc. NY Cuts Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Grace & White Inc. NY cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 54,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises about 1.9% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $10,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. HM Payson & Co. increased 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $203.82 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $197.52 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.78. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.19 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The company has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 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. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 directly owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush boosted their price target 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. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. 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, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average 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.