Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Trims Stock Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 16.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,600 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,407,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Smithfield Trust Co raised 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 purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. HM Payson & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC raised its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WSM opened at $194.44 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.25 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The firm has a market cap of $23.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.00, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $200.78 and a 200-day moving average of $166.45.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WSM. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Telsey Advisory Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $190.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $172.34.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

About Williams-Sonoma

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.