1,258 Shares in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) Purchased by Ring Mountain Capital LLC

Ring Mountain Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,258 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock, valued at approximately $233,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WSM. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 30,883.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. bought a new position in Williams-Sonoma during the third quarter worth about $203,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Williams-Sonoma by 358.9% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,900 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 2,268 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 32.9% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 6,112 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $947,000 after acquiring an additional 1,513 shares during the period. Finally, Confluence Wealth Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 100.0% during the third quarter. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. now owns 3,016 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $467,000 after acquiring an additional 1,508 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.29% of the company’s stock.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM opened at $187.33 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $201.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.71. The company has a market cap of $23.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.16, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.79. Williams-Sonoma, Inc. has a one year low of $117.13 and a one year high of $219.98.

Williams-Sonoma Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a dividend of $0.57 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.98%.

Insider Transactions at Williams-Sonoma

In other news, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 944,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $196,263,808.16. This represents a 4.55 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 46,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,014,116.16. This trade represents a 2.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WSM. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $140.00 to $134.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 8th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $162.00 to $189.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Wedbush restated a “neutral” rating and set a $190.00 price objective (up previously from $175.00) on shares of Williams-Sonoma in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $136.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Williams-Sonoma from $165.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $173.28.

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.