Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 16.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,407,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. Resonant Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,474 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $643,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Westmount Partners LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Westmount Partners LLC now owns 6,242 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,156,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 2.6% in the third quarter. Diversify Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,226 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction 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 stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WSM has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Telsey Advisory Group upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Citigroup cut their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $194.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $113.25 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $200.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.45.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.98%.

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.