Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Sells 8,822 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 116,060 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 8,822 shares during the quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC owned about 0.09% of Williams-Sonoma worth $21,492,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. FMR LLC grew its position in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after buying an additional 2,777,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 1,105,336 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $171,239,000 after acquiring an additional 565,745 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $212.09 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.36 and a 200 day moving average of $156.48. The company has a market cap of $26.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.76 and a 12-month high of $212.92.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total value of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at $129,309,848.44. This trade represents a 3.88 % 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 commented on WSM. Citigroup cut their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Telsey Advisory Group boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective 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. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $163.16.

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.