Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Acquired by Transform Wealth LLC

Transform Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 14,459 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 446 shares during the quarter. Transform Wealth LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $2,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after buying an additional 4,901 shares during the period. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after buying an additional 3,038 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in 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 during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% during 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 during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,641,000 after acquiring an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WSM shares. 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. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.03.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total transaction of $560,552.40. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM opened at $202.73 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1-year low of $95.76 and a 1-year high of $204.68. The company has a 50-day moving average of $180.75 and a 200-day moving average of $155.99. The company has a market capitalization of $24.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.98, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

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 paid a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. 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.