Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 338 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,198 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 338 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,333,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WSM. FMR LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 72.7% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 8,781,201 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,360,384,000 after acquiring an additional 3,695,837 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 108.8% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,329,125 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $825,588,000 after acquiring an additional 2,777,339 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 107.5% in 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 acquiring an additional 1,393,436 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 118.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,110,320 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $326,931,000 after acquiring an additional 1,145,410 shares during the period. Finally, Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its position in Williams-Sonoma by 324.4% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 1,036,256 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $160,537,000 after buying an additional 792,068 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE:WSM opened at $182.98 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $201.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $169.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 21.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a twelve month low of $117.13 and a twelve month high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th were paid a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WSM has been the topic of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Gordon Haskett upgraded Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.28.

Insider Activity at Williams-Sonoma

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total value of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total value of $9,349,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by 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.