Private Trust Co. NA Acquires 1,177 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 150.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,961 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,177 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth approximately $26,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter worth $29,000. Hobbs Group Advisors LLC bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Smithfield Trust Co boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Williams-Sonoma from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $148.00 to $156.00 in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $154.41.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Williams-Sonoma stock opened at $171.39 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.87 and a 1 year high of $181.42. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $145.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $145.38. The stock has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 1.76.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 22nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, October 18th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, October 18th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.33%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

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.