Aigen Investment Management LP Sells 619 Shares of Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM)

Aigen Investment Management LP reduced its position in Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (NYSE:WSM) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,422 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock after selling 619 shares during the quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Williams-Sonoma were worth $1,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WSM. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Williams-Sonoma by 30,883.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 1,859 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock valued at $288,000 after purchasing an additional 1,853 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,268 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 122.4% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 32,345 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $5,011,000 after acquiring an additional 17,801 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its stake in Williams-Sonoma by 212.4% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 313,335 shares of the specialty retailer’s stock worth $48,542,000 after acquiring an additional 213,035 shares in the last quarter. 99.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Williams-Sonoma Price Performance

Shares of WSM stock opened at $187.50 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $201.37 and a 200-day moving average of $169.16. The company has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 17th were issued a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 17th. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Williams-Sonoma’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WSM. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $145.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $170.00 to $224.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Gordon Haskett raised shares of Williams-Sonoma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Williams-Sonoma from $194.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, 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, February 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $173.28.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jeffrey Howie sold 1,408 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $194.32, for a total transaction of $273,602.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now 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 filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Laura Alber sold 45,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.76, for a total transaction of $9,349,200.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 944,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $196,263,808.16. This trade represents a 4.55 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Williams-Sonoma 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.