Grace & White Inc. NY Decreases Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Grace & White Inc. NY lessened its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 3.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 54,930 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the period. Williams-Sonoma comprises 1.9% of Grace & White Inc. NY’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest holding. Grace & White Inc. NY’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $10,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,360,384,000 after purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings 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 worth $825,588,000 after buying an additional 2,777,339 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $418,223,000 after acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after acquiring an additional 792,068 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WSM stock opened at $203.82 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. The business’s 50 day moving average is $197.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $162.78. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $108.19 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

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 $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 1.12%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.39, for a total value of $560,552.40. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. 1.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WSM shares. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Barclays upped their target price 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. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

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.