Bell Investment Advisors Inc Sells 56 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Bell Investment Advisors Inc reduced its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 17.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 264 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Bell Investment Advisors Inc’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $49,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smithfield Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC now owns 236 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Heck Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WSM. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 target price (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday, February 28th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $173.28.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

WSM stock opened at $188.83 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $201.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $170.00. The firm has a market cap of $23.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.33, a PEG 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 Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.21%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.