Pacer Advisors Inc. Lowers Stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Pacer Advisors Inc. lessened its stake in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 98.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,362 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 2,072,958 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $6,919,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Smithfield Trust Co raised its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Smithfield Trust Co now owns 160 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. Cassady Schiller Wealth Management LLC now owns 166 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Williams-Sonoma during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Clean Yield Group purchased a new stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma in the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Finally, HM Payson & Co. grew its position in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the 3rd quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 200 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE WSM opened at $216.70 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.76 and a 12-month high of $217.64. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $158.74.

Williams-Sonoma Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 17th will be given a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.05%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WSM shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $135.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $163.16.

Insider Buying and Selling at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 40,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 3,160 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 88,160 shares of company stock worth $15,129,352. 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.