Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Grows Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 391.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,380 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,034 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $3,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WSM. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 94.6% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 7,389 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $1,145,000 after purchasing an additional 3,592 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30,883.3% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $288,000 after buying an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 141.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 8,896 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,378,000 after buying an additional 5,212 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 109.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 4,702 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $726,000 after acquiring an additional 2,454 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 101.9% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,865 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $4,007,000 after acquiring an additional 13,054 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,228,767.32. This trade represents a 6.38 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WSM has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $172.34.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 3.1 %

NYSE WSM opened at $192.16 on Friday. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 52 week low of $115.41 and a 52 week high of $219.98. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $201.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $167.62. The firm has a market cap of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Williams-Sonoma’s payout ratio is 26.98%.

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.