Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Shares Sold by Lake Street Advisors Group LLC

Lake Street Advisors Group LLC cut its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,382 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 116 shares during the period. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $256,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WSM. FMR LLC lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% during 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 valued at $171,239,000 after acquiring an additional 565,745 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the company’s 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 directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 49,568 shares of company stock valued at $10,183,355. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 18th. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Gordon Haskett upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.28.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WSM opened at $194.23 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $23.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.97, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $201.46 and a 200 day moving average of $168.00. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $115.79 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors 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 was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is presently 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.