Cooper Financial Group Increases Stock Holdings in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Cooper Financial Group lifted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,845 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after buying an additional 360 shares during the quarter. Cooper Financial Group’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,082,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its position in Williams-Sonoma by 186.0% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,536 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $1,167,000 after acquiring an additional 4,901 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 97.1% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,167 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $955,000 after acquiring an additional 3,038 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 94.8% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 19,535 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 9,509 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 38,512 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $5,966,000 after acquiring an additional 8,237 shares during the period. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in Williams-Sonoma by 67.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 29,959 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $4,641,000 after purchasing an additional 12,061 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Williams-Sonoma news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of Williams-Sonoma stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.49, for a total transaction of $5,219,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 990,956 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,309,848.44. The trade was a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were 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 owns 46,388 shares in the company, valued at $8,228,767.32. This represents a 6.38 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Down 0.8 %

WSM stock opened at $195.35 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $174.00 and a 200-day moving average of $153.91. The company has a market cap of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.10, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.76 and a 12-month high of $200.56.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Friday, January 17th will be issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.17%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is presently 26.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WSM. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $116.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. 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. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Williams-Sonoma presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $160.03.

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.