Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Makes New $238,000 Investment in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor bought 1,285 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $238,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. FMR LLC lifted its holdings 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 during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $825,588,000 after purchasing an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,689,451 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $418,223,000 after purchasing an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings 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 worth $326,931,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after purchasing an additional 792,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $209.12 on Tuesday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $108.19 and a one year high of $219.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.73, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.79. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $196.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $162.00.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WSM shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Wedbush boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Williams-Sonoma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. The trade was a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $5,219,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Company 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.