Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 42.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,679 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 2,567 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,607,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew 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 valued at $825,588,000 after buying an additional 2,777,339 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 1,393,436 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after buying an additional 1,145,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 104.8% in the third 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 worth $171,239,000 after buying an additional 565,745 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WSM opened at $204.54 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $192.91 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $159.99. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.57 and a 1 year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WSM has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price 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. Barclays raised their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. The trade was a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352 over the last quarter. 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.