OFI Invest Asset Management Buys Shares of 275 Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 275 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $49,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after acquiring an additional 12,061 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $185.73 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $201.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $170.38. The company has a market cap of $22.86 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.82. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.13 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Telsey Advisory Group raised 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. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $173.28.

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.