Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Has $8.83 Million Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 10.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 47,467 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 4,512 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $8,831,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSM. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted 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 worth $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position 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 own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WSM. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $172.34.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

NYSE WSM opened at $214.88 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $198.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.96. The stock has a market cap of $26.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.41, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $108.74 and a fifty-two week high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 yield of 1.06%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.97%.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.