Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Takes $416,000 Position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. acquired a new stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 2,244 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $416,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Smithfield Trust Co grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the period. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the third quarter valued at $28,000. HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Finally, Sittner & Nelson LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third quarter. Sittner & Nelson LLC now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WSM. Evercore ISI lifted 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. Telsey Advisory Group lifted 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. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

WSM opened at $203.82 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.09 billion, a PE ratio of 24.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $108.19 and a 12-month high of $219.98. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $197.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $162.78.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.12%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 26.97%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock valued at $15,129,352. Company 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.